The Fastest Thief Alive
by R0cknR011
Summary: What if you had to go against your whole life's work to save a loved one? Manic the Hedgehog, brother of Mobius savior Sonic the Hedgehog, failed to complete a theft job and will die unless the job is done. Inspired by "Gone in Sixty Seconds". Chpt 37 up!
1. Midnight Rush

**Author's Notes**:

- If you like cars and Sonic the Hedgehog, then this is for you. This is a Sonic-style adaptation of the the movies "Gone in Sixty Seconds." Though some inspiration came from the original version of the movie, more came from the modern version starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie.

- **All Sonic characters and related themes belong to Sega, TMS Ent., Archie Comics, and DiC Ent**.

- **The Movie "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and all related themes belong to Columbia Pictures and all who made the movie possible**.

- **All cars, products, company names, insignias, trademarks, and songs belong to their respective owners**.

- Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended and I do not own any of the above mentioned in this story. It is purely for the personal enjoyment of fans of the Sonic the Hedgehog, Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, and the hottest automobiles on the planet.

* * *

**Note:** Characters are from the Sonic X anime, the comics, Sonic Underground, and the video games . All characters are six years older than how they are usually portrayed.

* * *

**Chapter 1** - Midnight Rush

On any given night in Station Square, chances were promising that if you looked around the streets at night, you'd find some sort of crime being committed. Sometimes it would be something as simple as some kids toilet papering somebody's tree. On the other hand, sometimes sirens would wail in the night as they responded to a triple homicide committed by a drunken gunman. Tonight was no different. Tonight, yet another crime was going to be committed.

It was just about midnight when a black 80's style IROC-Z Camaro slowly crept down a street. Inside the car, three occupants were eagerly looking for their target. But their target wasn't a tree for toilet papering and fortunately, it wasn't somebody to murder. No, this group was looking for something far more valuable, and apparently, far more difficult to locate. In the back of the Camaro, a yellow flying squirrel, wearing a blue jacket, blue tennis shoes, and white gloves, sat nervously fidgeting his hands and feet.

"Tails... are you **_s-s-sure_** you're reading the directions right?"

The question was directed to a yellow-orange, twin-tailed kitsune fox sitting in the shotgun seat.

"Ray, will you relax already? I'm telling ya, we're going the right way," Tails replied reassuringly to the nervous squirrel.

"B-b-but! I don't see it and we're almost there!," Ray stuttered.

"We've still got several blocks to go! Just clam down, alright?"

Ray sat back in his seat, still fidgeting nervously. A few minutes later the Camaro reached it's destination where the target was supposed to be.

"See! I told you! It's not here! We made a mistake!" Ray cried.

"No, this is the place. But I don't see it either," the fox replied, scratching his chin.

"SHOOT! Where is it!"

"Will you guys relax? It's right there."

The driver pointed across the street to something. When Tails and Ray looked over, their eyes shot open. They found themselves across the street from the largest Porsche dealership in the entire city. Looking in through the huge front windows of the dealership, Tails and Ray could see all types of brand new, shiny, sexy Porsche's sitting quietly in the darkness of the dealership. In particular, they both were looking at a car in the front of the showroom. Sitting on top a sloped display platform was a black 2005 Porsche Carrerra GT, one of the rarest and most expensive cars Porsche had ever made. Compared with all the other cars that were on the floor, this one stood out from the rest, not only because it was up in the air on the platform, but also because it was absolutely stunning to look at.

"T-tails... this can't be right. It's too risky, too in the open."

"You know something, Ray... I think you're right. This can't be the place. There's no way that's the one we need," the fox agreed.

"It's the right one."

Ray and Tails turned their attention to the driver again.

"Are you serious!" Tails said incredulously.

"Manic... are you **_absolutely _**sure that's the one?" Ray asked.

"Positive."

Manic, a green hedgehog with a red sleeveless jacket, two gold loop earrings through his left ear, and black spiked bracelets on his wrists, sat in the driver's seat, his brown eyes staring intently at the Carrera GT. In addition to his regular downward sloping quills, Manic also had long, spiky hair protruding from the top of his head, which he had just flicked upward a bit to get a better look at the car. In Manic's mind, that black Porsche was just begging to be driven. It was a car meant to be driven to the limit and beyond, not to sit around in a showroom and collect dust.

"Here I come..." Manic said quietly, tightening his seatbelt

Tails and Ray looked at each other, both wondering if Manic was truly going to do what they thought he was going to do.

"Hang on, guys," Manic said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"NO MANIC! DON'T!" Ray shrieked.

At that moment, Manic slammed the gas pedal down, throwing the rest of the occupants back into their seats. As the Camaro was still patching out, Manic turned the car straight for the showroom. A moment later, the car smashed through one of the giant glass showroom windows. Manic slammed the brakes on so hard that Tails slid forward into the dash board and Ray flew into the front seat, landing in an uncomfortable twisted heap. Manic jumped out of the car straight away as alarm systems were starting to blare away and the emergency lights turned on.

"Ray, come on! Let's go! Get out here and help me! Tails, you take the car back to the safe house! MOVE!" Manic ordered.

Still a bit stunned from their violent entrance, the two in the car exchanged nods and jumped to action. As Ray hopped out of the Camaro via the window, Tails pulled himself into the driver's seat and shifted it into reverse. Backing out of the showroom, a pile of shattered glass slid off the hood and joined the rest of the glass on the floor.

"Ray! Get the stock number off the car!" Manic shouted as Tails sped away in the IROC-Z.

Running up onto the platform, Ray's blue eyes glanced over the car's window sticker and spotted the number.

"8675309, Manic!"

Across the showroom, Manic kicked open a glass box that had an emergency fire ax in it with his red and white sneakered foot. Grabbing the ax, Manic grabbed it in order to hack open a small safe on the wall where the car keys were kept.

"Come on Manic! Hurry up!" Ray yelled nervously.

With a single swipe, Manic chopped off not only the lock, but the entire door to the safe, a shower of sparks flying off the safe when he hit it. With his eyes darting over all the keys in the safe, Manic found the right key and then raced up onto the display stand, hastily unlocking both doors and then entering the Carrera GT. Manic then put the key in the ignition and summoned the car to life. With a mighty howl, the car's powerful ten cylinder engine came to life, ready to hit triple speeds in mere seconds. Manic then looked over at the pile of shattered glass that blocked their way out.

"That glass is bad news," Manic said.

Looking over Manic, Ray examined the mess on the floor. Surely they're tires would be slashed to ribbons if they drove over it.

"That glass will f-f-flatten our tires for s-sure! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO!" Ray squeaked.

Manic quickly glanced around, noting in particular the sloped stand they were on and the fact that they were positioned right in front of a window.

"I got an idea," the hedgehog said coolly.

Shifting the Porsche into reverse, Manic backed the car up to the far side of the showroom then shifted it into first gear.

"Manic, wha…what are you d-doing?" Ray asked nervously.

Keeping his sight forward, Manic pointed ahead of him. In front of them, the display stand made a perfect ramp. Rays' face turned white when he realized what Manic had planned.

"No way, Manic. Don't even think-"

Slamming the gas pedal to the floor, the V-10 engine let out a roar that reverberated loudly through the showroom. The car's torque threw it's occupants back against their seats as it sped forward towards the ramp. The car sped up the ramp perfectly and rocketed into the air. Manic yelled out in excitement while Ray closed his eyes and covered his face in fear, wailing like a baby as they crashed through the showroom window and out over the street. The car landed in the middle of the street and Manic had to slam on the brakes while turning hard to the left to stop. Once the car had stopped, the hedgehog floored the Carrera GT again, spinning the wheels and leaving a long tire mark on the street.

"MANIC, YOU'RE CRAZY! YOU KNOW THAT!" Ray screamed over the engine noise.

"I LOVE THIS CAR!" the hedgehog yelled out, oblivious to the squirrel's comment.

With their freshly stolen set of wheels, Manic powered shifted the car into the next gear and started racing back to their safe house across town, albeit at a reasonably suspicious speed and manner.

* * *

Across town, somewhere in the docks, a purple walrus with a brown bomber jacket, a reversed yellow baseball cap, a tool belt, black gloves, and reading glasses, sat playing a game of "Mine Sweeper" on a laptop computer. Growing bored with his computer, the walrus shut the screen and stared blankly into space, letting out a lazy yawn.

"Bored, Rotor?"

Rotor turned his attention to a chair with a silver hedgehog that had two quills coming out the back of his head and five smaller, flat quills standing up from his forehead.

"Yup yup..."

"I thought Manic told you not to screw around with his computer? You know how cautious he is with it, since he uses it for hacking and has to be really careful about who does what with it."

"He told me I could use it just for basic games. I've been playing Mine Sweeper for the most part."

"Ah, I see."

"But I tell ya Silver... I wish I could have gone out with the guys to get the Porsche. That would sure beat having to sit here beating the same game over and over again, ya know?"

"Uh huh..." Silver responded, not very interested.

At a loss of what to do, Rotor picked up an old tennis ball on the floor and chucked it at the wall. Silver, using his psychokinetic powers, stopped the ball in mid air and suspended it in front of him. He then started spinning the ball backwards with his mind, then willed it into the ground. The ball bounced and flew backwards at the same time, right back into Rotor's large hands.

"Woah! That was cool!"

Since Silver used his PK powers all the time, he didn't get excited over such a small trick. Rotor, on the other hand, had found a cure for his boredom and decided to show off his own moves. The walrus stood up and took a pitching stance.

"Let's see ya top this one, Silver!"

Rotor pitched the ball and it flew on an erratic yet somehow straight path, hit the wall, and bounced somewhere into the dark.

"What the heck kinda throw was that?" Silver said, looking at Rotor.

"Knuckle ball. It's supposed to do that.

"At least mine came back to me," th hedgehog teased.

"What ees going on een 'ere?"

Behind them, a brown and tan coyote with blond hair, a fancy blue royal jacket with gold shoulder tassels and cuffs, along with red boots, entered the room.

"Relax, Antoine. Just tryin' to pass the time," Rotor said.

"More like waste zee time. Speaking of zee time... where do you t'eenk ze are?"

"Beats me," Rotor responded.

A knock sounded on the back door of the warehouse. Antoine's hand instinctively went to his saber in its sheath on his belt as everybody turned around. Silver got out of his chair and made his way to the back door and looked out a small peep hole to see who it was.

"Relax guys, it's Tails."

Silver opened the door and Tails came in. The two then came back into the room where the others were.

"What? Where's Manic and Ray? Aren't they back yet?" Tails asked.

"Non, zey 'aven't come back yet."

"Huh... that's weird... Wonder what's keeping them?" Tails said.

"Eet ees taking too long. Zey should have been back by now, no?" Antoine asked, starting to get nervous.

"I hope it's no big deal," Silver said..

"I'm sure they're fine. After all, what could they possibly be doing?" Rotor said.

* * *

"ARE YOU INSANE! SLOW DOWN!"

Currently, Manic and Ray were using their stolen Porsche to street race an orange pimped out Toyota Supra. Both cars were doing triple digit speeds and were swerving from lane to lane to avoid traffic in both directions. Manic was grinning like a mad-man with excitement while Ray clung to his seat like ivy.

"Manic! Did you forget we're in a st-st-stolen c-car!

"I know! That's why we can have fun with it!"

Both cars were now approaching an intersection which showed a green light that had just switched to yellow. Neither car showed the slightest signs of slowing down and continued to race on. In fact, both cars sped up, wanting to try to beat the red light.

"FOR PETE'S SAKE, YOU'RE GONNA GET US KILLED!" Ray shrieked.

It was no use. Manic shifted the Porsche into sixth gear and pushed the accelerator as hard as he could. Despite their speeds, the light turned red long before they got there, and cars started to pass through the intersection in the opposite direction. Currently, two cars, one going to the right and one going to the left, were coming into the intersection. Manic daringly maneuvered their car right at the quickly closing gap between those two cars. At this rate, the gap would be gone in a few seconds.

"Oh my **_God_**!" Ray cried, bracing for what he was sure would be a crash that would kill the both of them.

With only millimeters to spare, the Carrera GT blasted through the gap between the opposing cars and made it safely to the other side of the intersection. The trailing Supra, however, failed to stop in time and t-boned the first car in the passenger door with horrifying force. The two cars them slammed into the third car, resulting in a massive shower of glass and car parts flying up and raining down into the intersection. The resulting sound of the crash made both occupants of the Porsche look into their review mirrors and observe the aftermath.

"Serves ya right! WOOOOOO! I win!" Manic cheered while slapping the steering wheel with his hands.

As they continued down the road, Ray couldn't take his eyes off his mirror.

"Oh man... we're going to jail for this, I know it," the squirrel said, sitting deeper into his seat and covering his face with his hands.

"Relax, there's no way they'll catch us! Opps! Missed our turn!"

Manic slammed on the brakes while down shifting and brought the car down from nearly two hundred miles per hour to fifty in less than a block, then jerked the wheel to the left, performing a counterclockwise 180. The hedgehog then sped back down the block and performed a right hand power slide turn onto a street leading to the Station Square Docks.

"Home free, baby!" Manic chanted as they sped down the streets.

* * *

**A/N** - For those who have been following this story, you know that this is the re-posted version. I hope you like what I've done with everything so far. To those who haven't been following this story, I hope you'll keep up with it. There's much more excitement and cool things to come.

And yes, Ray really does stutter like that and Antoine speaks with a French accent, for those who don't already know.

See ya next time! All reviews and suggestions welcome!


	2. The Secret is Out

**A/N** - To those who have read my previous version of this story, this chapter begins for the most part the same as before. The rest, however, is much different, so I encourage you to read through at least from the middle on. And for those who are new to this story and have no idea what I'm talking about , don't worry about it!

That being said, here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2** – The Secret is Out

Meanwhile, at the warehouse, Antoine, Rotor, Tails, and Silver all sat awaiting the return of their teammates. Antoine was nervously rubbing his hands while Silver was tumbling random objects around in the air with his PK powers. Rotor was playing another game of mine sweeper on the laptop, practically ready to fall asleep. Tails was already sleeping on an old couch with one of his tails tucked under his head as a pillow and the other laid on top of him as a cover. A car horn outside stirred everybody out of their stupors.

"It's about time," Silver said.

Silver used his mind powers to pull a switch on the wall in the front of the warehouse. A metal garage door raised up, revealing the black Carerra GT behind it, its headlights flooding the warehouse as the door rose. Once the path was free, the car pulled into the warehouse and parked amidst the other cars, door closing behind it. As Manic and Ray exited the Porsche, the others made their way over to them.

"What was zee 'old up, Manic?"

"There was a car accident that slowed us down, so we had to take a detour. Plus, we had to play it cool. After all, we were in a Carerra GT. That's not exactly a low-profile kinda car, ya know."

Ray was currently marking off the Carrera GT from a list of cars marked on the wall with chalk. The squirrel was having quiet a lot of difficulty of shaking off the nervousness he'd just had from the rather intense drive over.

"What's the count, dude?" Manic asked.

"Tw..twenty down, eighty to g-go!"

"Sweet! A fifth of the way done! Let's see if we can get to twenty-five tonight and get to a quarter of the way done!"

Manic turned to leave.

"Wait a meenuet, Manic."

"Ant, we can't waste time. We're on a tight schedule as it is."

"I don't t'eenk you were telling me zee truth about why you were late."

"It's the truth, man. Right Ray?"

Ray was caught off guard by this question, resulting in him losing the ability to talk.

"_Right Ray?_" Manic pressed, not wanting to get caught red handed.

"Zere wasn't any car acceedent... was there?" Antoine asked, starting to see right through what was going on.

"I'm tellin' ya! There was an accident!"

"Yeah, it happened right behind us!" Ray spat out, trying to cover up their already shaky story.

"Behind you? I sought zat you said you had to take, how you say, a deetour around eet?"

Ray suddenly let out a bit of a nervous squeak. Looking like a little kid who just got caught with his hand in a cookie jar, he realized he'd contradicted their story.

"Nice going, dude. You just busted us," Manic said quietly, glaring at the squirrel.

"I'm sorry! I d-didn't mean to!" Ray said back, looking like he could cry.

"Manic... you were street raceeng again,... weren't you?..."

"... Nobody followed us..." Manic answered, a bit too quickly.

"MON **_DIEU_**!," Antoine shouted, throwing his arms in frustration. "Do you t'eenk zis ees a veedeo game zat we are playing 'ere! We need to be careful with zis!"

"You think that's bad? Why don't you ask him how they got in," Tails said.

"Better yet why don't _you _tell me how zey got in, Tails."

Manic threw the fox a look as if to say 'answer and you'll pay.'

"Rather than letting me work my magic and trip the security systems and what not, Manic over here used his car as a battering ram and smashed through one of the showroom windows," the fox informed them

"You serious!" Silver asked incredulously.

"Yup. I don't know how they got out, though."

"S...same way," Ray said, twiddling his thumbs.

"What the!" Manic yelled, not believing Ray was telling on him again.

"We j-jumped the car out of the sh-sh-showroom using the display stand it was on out into the middle of the street th-through another window."

"Geez Manic! If I'd known you were gonna do that, I'd have come with ya. Half the city probably knows what happened now," Rotor said.

"YOU GUYS ARE ASSHOLES!" Manic shouted, stomping a few feet away.

"Manic, zis eez unaccepteeble! Eez zat clear! UNACCEPTEEBLE!"

"Would you guys just shut up already! I told you nobody followed us!"

An uncomfortable silence ensued as everybody's tempers cooled off. Antoine, letting out a sigh, looked to Manic.

"Manic... are you sure... are you _certeen..._ zat **_nobody_** followed you?"

"I am absolutely... positively... 100-"

"Wrong!"

Ray had finished the sentence as a bright light flooded the dark warehouse. The sound of a helicopter overhead could be heard as it's light illuminated various parts of the room. Also, a crescendo of sirens was gradually rising outside. The coyote looked up at the light, his eyes lighting up in fear.

"Sacrebleu! Eet's zee cops!" Antoine squeaked.

Aside from the noises outside and Ray whimpering, Antoine noticed it was unusually quiet. Turning back to everybody else, he found them all staring at him, apparently too surprised to think straight.

"WHAT ON ZEE EARTH ARE YOU WAITEENG FOR! ZEE 'OLEEDAYS! WE NEED TO GEET ZEE 'ECKS OUT OF 'ERE!"

"I'll get the list!" Silver said, hurrying over to the list of cars to steal and started erasing it as quickly as he could.

"I'll get our cars started!" Tails said as he ran for the back door.

"Zee rest of you, get zee gear!"

Ray, Manic, and Rotor ran over to all the parked cars, leaned in through the windows, and pulled out the fancy looking keys from each car's ignitions. They then quickly gathered up all of their gear that they had sitting out, piled it into a few duffel bags that were sitting around, then high-tailed it to the back door. Manic also stopped to grab his laptop before fleeing the warehouse.

"Antoine! Help me out here!" Silver called.

The list Silver was erasing was huge and he'd only gotten it about half done. The coyote helped Silver rub out the rest of the list as best they could, then went for the rear as well. Outside, the two found both cars started and ready to go. Manic, Tails, and Ray were already in the the IROC-Z, while Rotor was waiting in Antoine's 1990 BMW 750iL. Ant performed a somersault jump into the front seat through the window while Silver used his powers to open the door and close it without touching it. With the sirens growing close, and the helicopter hovering overhead, Manic took lead and the two cars sped away from the warehouse, darting down alleyway after alleyway until they finally reached a normal street and proceeded at full speed from their hideout.

* * *

A short while later the warehouse was infested with cops. Photographs and notes of equipment, the cars, and the building were being taken by all that were on scene. In the middle of all this, another police car pulled into the crime scene. But this was no ordinary car. It was a brand new black BMW M5. On it's dashboard was a removable police-light which was currently on, it's red glare flashing about the garage. The undercover car pulled inside and stopped in the warehouse, its bright xenon headlights blasting the interior of the building with light. The driver door opened and from the driver's seat stepped a tall, green crocodile, with a large gold chain necklace, white gloves with gold chains on the cuffs, black boots, and a set of head-phones.

"Mighty, Espio, Charmy, you guys wait here... I'm gonna go get the scoop," the croc said through the open window.

As the croc. disappeared into the swarm of officers in the warehouse, the rest of the occupants began to converse.

"What do you guys reckon happened here?" Mighty asked, a red and black armadillo with red shoes and tan chest fur.

"Probably some sort of illegal operation. Maybe drugs, counterfeit money, or guns," Espio said, a purple chameleon with purple shoes with studded cuffs, white gloves with similar studs, and a yellow horn on his face.

"Could I try shooting one of them at some soda cans! _**PLEEEEEEEASE**_!" Charmy asked, a black and yellow bumble bee with orange shoes, and orange jacket, and a black helmet with goggles.

"What do you think? Of course not!" snapped the chameleon.

"Awwww, come on! I won't hurt anybody!"

"That's what you said when you got that stupid nerf gun a few weeks ago. What's the first thing you did? Shoot me right in the eye! Do you know how many eye drops I had to use to get my eye better?" the purple being said, anger filtering into his voice.

"I sure hope it isn't guns... I hate those things," the armadillo said, shuttering a bit.

"Haha! 'Mighty the Pessimist' doesn't like guns!" Charmy taunted.

"I think you mean... _pacifist_," Mighty corrected.

"Whatever! I think guns are cool!," Charmy said excitedly, then made several shooting sounds with his mouth while making gun shapes with his hands.

"Any weapon, no matter what kind, is dangerous and should be treated carefully," Espio said affirmatively.

"Like you have any room to talk! I've seen some of the stunts you've pulled off with your throwing stars and knife thingys!"

"They're _shurikens_ and _kunais, _for your information. And for the record, whenever I train with them, I do it in private so I don't hurt anybody. And I never aim at anything that is living or representative of living."

"So what about the time you hurled a bunch of rubber practice throwing stars at me?"

Espio shut his eyes in frustration and sighed angrily. Mighty decided to chime in.

"You were singing and dancing along to the 'Pepto Bismol' song when he was fighting off a bad case of the flu and had been awake for over twenty-four hours."

"He was taking the stuff, though! I just thought I'd try to cheer him up. I never thought he'd snap like that. Good thing he didn't use metal ones!"

"I think anybody would have snapped," Mighty suggested.

"Moreover, it was a one time occurrence. And a regrettable one. One that I have long since apologized for and repeatedly sworn never to do it again. And I'd appreciate if you'd stop bringing that up for that exact reason. It's all in the past," Espio said, mumbling a bit.

"Sure thing, mister '_I never aim at anything that is living or representative of living,_" Charmy said, mocking Espio's voice and mannerisms.

"You are _so_ immature..." Espio said with an exasperated sigh.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"_Am_ not!"

"_Are_ too!"

"_Am not!_"

"_Are too!_"

"**_AM NOT!_**"

"**_ARE TOO!_**"

"YO! Enough!" Mighty said in a calm but stern way. "If you're done acting like a couple of kindergarteners, Vector's motioning for us to come to him."

Mighty exited the car and headed off towards Vector. The post-arguing teammates gave each other a look like two little kids who just got punished would give each other, then exited the car and caught up with Mighty. The trio found their boss standing in front of what looked like a parking lot of cars.

"What the?" Mighty said, confused.

"What is going on here?" Espio asked.

"Guys... we've happened upon a major car-theft operation."

"**COOOOOOOOL!**" Charmy squealed with excitement while buzzing about in the air.

"Charmy! Keep your voice down!" Espio scolded.

"I love cars! I love em, I love em, I love em!" Charmy continued, dancing about on the ground.

"Well... this is unexpected. What do we know, Vector?" Mighty asked as Espio tried to calm Charmy down.

"According to a radio transmission by officer Sam Speed, leader of the S-Team high speed patrol squad, officer Speed saw a horrible accident occur in an intersection by street racers. He was about a block away at the time, issuing a citation to another car he caught speeding. The first car, a black Porsche Carerra GT, just got through. But the second car, a Toyota Supra, hit two cars in the intersection. Officer Speed called for help immediately. As it turned out, a Station Square air unit was in the area and spotted the other car fleeing the scene, then followed it here to this warehouse. Once all the other forces got here, this is what they found."

"Has anybody been taken into custody?" Mighty asked.

"Unfortunately, not a single one of the thieves has been caught. They escaped here without anybody seeing them."

"Disgraceful," Espio said, having finally calmed Charmy down. "Is there anything more promising than that?"

"Well, the interesting thing about this is that we know we're dealing with professionals here."

"How so?" the chameleon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, none of the cars show any kind of break-in damage. The locks weren't broken, the ignition systems are intact, the steering columns aren't tampered with, there weren't even any scratches on the paint."

"Sounds like these guys must have been playing a lot of the 'Grand Theft Auto' games!" Charmy said.

"That's an understatement. To do what they did with _normal_ cars is hard enough. But as you can see, theses are **_not_** everyday cars."

The four detectives walked over to the parked cars, discovering just how truly special the cars were that they were talking about.

"Charmy, you've got you're camera, right?"

"Of course I do! You guys don't call me _shutterbug_ for nothing," the bee replied, pulling a small digital camera out of his jacket pocket.

"Heheh! That you are, Charmy."

Vector began to point out each car and tell what it was, with Charmy snapping a picture every so often.

"Well, first off, we have a 2005 Porsche Carerra GT. This was the car that was just stolen and was spotted in the street race. Now, for the other four cars in this row, we have a 2008 Cadillac XLR-V, a 1983 DMC DeLorean DMC-12, a 1999 Acura NSX Alex Zanardi Edition, and a 2006 Hummer H2 'Pacific Blue' Edition."

"WOW!" Charmy squealed, taking a bunch of pictures.

"Oh my..." Mighty said, a bit overwhelmed by the kinda cars they were dealing with.

"With the exception of the Porsche, these aren't as impressive as I thought they would be. I was expecting something of a higher caliber," Espio said.

"Are you kidding me, Espio! These are awesome cars!" Charmy squealed.

"Is that so?," Vector said, walking to the next row of cars. "Then how about these. This row consists of a 1992 Bugatti EB110 SS, a 2008 Audi R8, a 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, a 1990 Ferrari F40, and a 2008 Nissan GTR ."

Mighty and Espio only stared in silence at the smorgasbord of automobiles in front of them. Charmy, however, wasn't so silent.

"WOW! **WOW!** _**WOW!**_" the bee shrieked, dancing about and taking picture after picture of the red Ferrari.

"Charmy, will you cool it already!" Espio growled, grabbing the bee's arm tightly.

"OW! I'm just excited. How else do react to cars like that?"

"Hate to say it, Espio, but I'm with Charmy on this one. I know they're just cars, but even I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed being around these things."

"Heh! We're only halfway done here guys. Let's take a spin through the last two sets of five, here."

The next set of five consisted of a 2008 Ford Mustang Bullit Edition, a 2008 Honda S2000 Club Racer, a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, a 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, and a 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum.

"Hey Vector... isn't that last one the same as your wife's car?"

"Yup. And I'd have already driven it back if it were. Nobody steals from me."

"Haha!" Charmy laughed at Vector's comment.

They now arrived at the last group of five. This group consisted of a 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a 2008 BMW M3 Coupe, 2008 Mercedes-Benz AMG SL63, a 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo SE, and a 2002 Pagani Zonda S. Charmy whistled in amazement, snapping away with his camera.

"And I thought I'd been amazed before," Mighty said.

"Here's the interesting thing, though. A lot of these cars have been said to be impossible to steal not only because of their complex security systems, but also because because of the special equipment they require to be accessed and started," Vector pointed out.

"Whoever did this is either a technology master or has one working for them, that way they could build their own keys and program them to whatever car they needed," Espio said.

"Correct-o-mundo," Vector said.

"Whoever did this really knew what they doing, since they not only got around the security systems for these cars, but also they solved the problem of not having the key that goes with the car," Mighty commented.

"I'd sure love to know just how they got away," Espio said.

"We have a partial answer for that. Charmy, save some batteries on the camera and let's go."

The detectives walked to the rear door of warehouse.

"This is probably where they escaped from. There's a bit of engine fluid on the ground and slight tire tracks. How they managed to get away is nothing short of a miracle," Vector said.

"Unbelievable. They were all right here and none of them were caught," Espio said.

"Well, not much we can do about it now. Chances are good, though, that these guys will surface again. So, until then, all we can do is study what we have here and look for signs that these guys are at it again," Mighty suggested.

"That's exactly what we're gonna do, as well as file this at H.Q. to get it on record. Not only that, but I've been told that these cars are being impounded for the time being. Princess Elise could own these things and she'd be S.O.L."

Vector and Mighty shared a good laugh at the joke. Espio, however, was looking around.

"What's up, Espio?" the croc. asked.

"...Where's Charmy gotten to?"

In all of their discussions, nobody had noticed that the camera flashes had stopped. The three spread out through the warehouse, trying to find their missing comrade. And it didn't take long, for about a minute or so later, Vector whistled to the other search parties and motioned for them to come over to them. Sure enough, Charmy was sitting in one of the cars. The bee was happily playing inside the yellow Lamborghini, pushing various switches while holding the steering wheel and making engine sounds. He was so into playing that he didn't notice three faces staring at him through the window of the car. Therefore, Vector tapped the window lightly with his fingers, catching the bee's attention.

"Uhhh... Hi!..." Charmy said while smiling sheepishly, his face blushing with embarrassment.

Vector shook his head and motioned with his fingers that it was time to go. Before getting out, Charmy held his camera out in front of him for a self-portrait picture, then exited the car.

"I think we're done here, team. Let's head back to out H.Q. and start sifting through all this info."

"And the photo album of pictures we now have," Espio muttered, throwing Charmy a side-ways glance.

Team Chaotix proceeded back to Vector's cruiser and fired it up. Pulling out of the warehouse, Charmy could hardly contain his excitement. But Vector, keeping a cool head, was thinking otherwise.

"What's on your mind, Vector?" Mighty asked.

"I'm just thinking about this whole crime. There's so much about it that seems so... I don't know. I feel like I could know who did it already, and yet I don't."

"Well, we already know that we're dealing with individuals who are technically and mechanically inclined," Espio pointed out again.

"Also, this is clearly a team job, as it's impossible for one person to do all of this," Mighty stated.

"And, whoever did this must be sneaky! Twenty cars stolen and stashed without anybody knowing!" Charmy added.

"Lastly... this whole thing has been clearly planned out and executed with precision. No ordinary, everyday criminal could have pulled this off... Whoever did this is was experienced... whoever did this has a good noggin on their shoulders."

"You mean they're smart?" Charmy asked dumbly.

"Yes... They're smart," the croc. replied, a bit frustrated with Charmy's scatter-brained question.

"So... who do you think did it then, Vector?" the bee asked.

"_That_... is indeed the million dollar question. And it's one that I plan on finding the answer to. I'll make sure that whoever did this gets to ride in my car... right to jail."

"Actually... the million dollar question really should be..." Espio started.

"What?" Charmy asked.

"With all the rumors that have been floating around recently... does Robotnik have anything to do with this?" Espio asked in an tone suggesting he was truly concerned.

Silence followed as each member of the Chaotix considered this fact.

"I didn't even think about that... My God... Vector... Do you think that?..." Mighty said, not wanting to finish the sentence.

The tension was mounting as the three detectives waited for an answer. Six pairs of eyes stayed fixated on the leader of the group as he thought.

"...It can't be ruled out."

Though he kept his eyes on the road, Vector knew all too well that all of his teammates just threw nervous glances at each other.

"But let's not jump to conclusions, guys. The truth is we don't know who's operation this was, yet. I know there's rumors about Robotnik resurfacing these days, but with the way this city is, it could just as easily be the work of some criminal pinhead that gets his kicks from stealing innocent people's hard-earned property. Therefore, we're gonna do what I said we're gonna do. We're gonna study our evidence, ask some questions, and make some inferences. Hopefully, when we connect all the dots, we'll end up with our answer and we'll bring down those responsible for this crime against society."

To the crocodile's surprise, he received a round of applause from his teammates.

"Right on, Vector. I'm with ya all the way," Mighty said.

"As am I," Espio replied.

"Me too!" Charmy added.

"Thanks guys," Vector said, blushing a bit.

Seeing such enthusiasm in their leader, the rest of the team's anxiety was relieved and they began to socialize as they drove on. Inside Vector's mind, however, the reptile's brain was racing.

_"...What if this **is** Robotnik's doing?... What if I'm getting into something bigger than I think?... I don't want anything to happen to my team... I don't my wife and daughter to get hurt... But this is my job... my **duty**... I have to get to the bottom of this for the greater good!... And if things get too heavy I'm not going to hesitate in asking for help... My pride isn't worth as much the lives of others."  
_

* * *

**A/N** - I personally had a blast creating this chapter. I hope that it left you craving more. And trust me, there's plenty more to come. I hope that you'll tune in next time!

Also, I wanted to say something. I realize that not everybody who reads this story is going to be as avid a car fan as I. I therefore apologize that I use so many car names and companies in this story. But just like the Sonic characters, the cars are just as important characters of the story, as each one is special in some way and plays a role into developing and setting up the whole plot.

See you back here for chapter 3! All reviews and suggestions welcome!


	3. A Hero's Welcome

**Author's Notes**:

To my previous readers, there aren't too many changes in this chapter, but there a few that will be beneficial to read. It's also a bit shorter to allow for the next chapter to be structured the way I wanted it to be.

Also, there is a lot of dialog in the chapter, especially from Antoine. Be prepared to read a lot of misspelled words.

* * *

**Chapter 3** - A Hero's Welcome

Somewhere across Station Square, the escapees cars had just pulled over into an alleyway off the main road. Tempers were already flaring the second the doors of the cars opened.

"Zat... zat was... to close.." Antoine whimpered.

"I c-c-can't believe this has h-h-happened..." Ray stuttered with teary eyes.

"That's twenty cars and three nights worth of work right down the drain," Rotor said depressingly.

"You wanna tell us how the cops found us!" Silver shouted at Manic.

"How the hell should I know how they found us! I told you nobody on the ground followed us!" Manic retorted.

"'Ave you ever 'eard of heleecopters? Een case you 'ave forgotten, zere was one of zem 'overing above zee 'ide out! Eet probably spotted you on zee way back to our ide' out!"

"And they probably caught on after the car accident that you caused with your stupid race!" Tails barked.

"Will you guys cut me a freakin' break already! It's not like they caught us, you know! If we gotta start over, then we'll start over!" Manic shouted, his temper growing short.

"I don't know if it's that simple. It's gonna be next to impossible to recover and continue on now that we're behind schedule. Some of those cars might not even be replaceable since they're so rare. And now the cops know something is going on. Any way you look at it, we're not in good shape," Rotor pointed out.

"So that's it, then? We're just gonna give up on this and throw in the towel! I guess we'll all just sit around and suck each others dicks! Is that what ya wanna do!" Manic roared, his patience nearly gone.

"Hey asswipe, we wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you!," Silver spouted at the green hedgehog.

That was the last straw for Manic. He tackled Silver to the ground and the two started fist fighting as the others shouted for them to knock it off and Ray let out whimpers of nervousness. The fight was over rather quickly as Silver used his PK powers to freeze his opponent in his place.

"Enough!," Antoine yelled.

The hedgehog's got to their feet, still eying each other angrily.

"Now zen... eef you two are quite feeneeshed, zen per'aps we can figure out what we are going to do."

Everybody looked at each other, none of them too sure what they should do. Their next move, however, was determined when Antoine's cell phone rang.

"Oui?... Zat eez correct... I feegured you deed... Eet was a surprise... Zee others?... Zey all 'ave eescaped in deeferent directions... Right... I understand... Oui..."

Ant's voice had become more tense as the phone call went on. As Ant put his phone away, the others looked at him curiously, wondering who had called and what they wanted. Concern covered Ant's face when he looked at them.

"He eez after you Manic... He's angry... VERY angry..."

Everybody turned to Manic, knowing full well who Ant as talking about. Any anger Manic felt quickly dissipated and was replaced fear.

"Manic... you should go eento 'iding for now. Zee same t'ing goes for zee rest of you."

"Wh-what ab-b-b-b-out you?" Ray asked, his voice shaking.

"I'll be fine. You just do as I said, OK?"

Manic swallowed and nodded, then got into his IROC-Z. Tails, Ray, Rotor, and Silver then crammed into the car along with Manic and drove off.

Before he could do anything Antoine's phone beeped. This time it was a text message. All it said was:

**_Red Canyon. Hedgehog._**

Antoine sighed deeply, then got into his BMW and drove to the closest road leading out of town to the mountains and Red Canyon.

_"Zis will be a long drive." _the coyote thought.

Close to six hours later, the sun was starting to come up over the horizon. That whole time, Antoine had been driving without a break from Station Square out to the mountains and Red Canyon. By now, Ant was driving on twisty roads leading up and down the sloped landscape. Then, coming around a corner of a mountain, Antoine got a breathtaking view into Red Canyon. Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy it because the coyote's eyelids were barely open. Knowing that if he kept going he was likely to drive off the road and possibly end up in the bottom of the canyon, Ant stopped at a small motel situated at the edge of the canyons. Walking like a zombie into his room, Ant tossed his saber and jacket onto a chair next to his bed and kicked off his boots. He then flopped down onto the mattress, the cool sheets soothing his tired and sore body from so much driving. Just before he fell asleep, Ant took a quick look at a digital clock on a nightstand next to the bed. It's large blue LED numbers red "6:30," and another small light indicated it was AM. The moment the coyote's eyes shut he fell into a deep slumber, feeling relived to escape the troubles that had been on his mind all night.

* * *

Later on, Antoine began to stir as he regained consciousness. Opening his eyes, he saw that the lighting was about the same and figured he must not have been asleep too long. His nose twitched as he detected a slight odor. Realizing it was himself, the coyote lazily got out of bed and treated himself to a refreshing shower. Afterwards, feeling refreshed and awake, Ant put all his clothes on and glanced at the clock. It's number read " 7:00."

"I was only asleep for a 'alf 'our?" Ant said to himself, surprised at how good he felt for only sleeping thirty minutes.

Looking at the clock one more time, he noted the position of the AM/PM marker. It had switched positions.

"MON DIEU! Zee 'hole day 'as passed!" Ant said, running for the front door.

Throwing open the door to his room, Ant sprinted outside and raced for his car. Just as he'd sat down in the seat and went to start the engine, what sounded like a loud explosion rocked the entire complex and car in the parking lot. Looking around, Antoine couldn't see anything, but he did hear something that sounded like a jet. Looking out his window into the canyon, he saw a blue dot racing around the terrain so fast it was next to impossible to keep up with it. He watched as the dot came closer and closer to his location until it suddenly disappeared for a second. A loud roar deafened Ant as a blue blur rocketed upward past his car at the edge of the canyon, followed by a loud thump on the roof of his car.

"Sorry bout that, pal!" a young, upbeat voice said.

Ant's heart rate soared at hearing that voice. He went to say something, but another blast meant that his target was already running away.

"SONEEK!" Antoine shouted, opening his door and looking back.

A loud screech and trail of smoke came from the edge of the parking lot, then in a flash, a blue hedgehog was standing next to Ant's car.

"Antoine! Long time no see!" Sonic said cheerfully.

"Eendeed, eet 'as been a long time. Seex years, eef I am to be correct."

The two shook hands, then gave each other a quick, welcome hug. Sonic had changed since the last time Antoine had seen him. The hedgehog was noticeably taller, at least a foot or more, his quills were longer, the tan fur on his chest was longer and frizzier, and he'd grown a tuft of hair on his forehead that served as bangs. Sonic's voice had also deepened and lowered as well.

"I am een deesbelief. You've grown quite a beet over zee years."

"Eh, what can I say? I grew up, I guess. Same for you. You're voice is deeper. And I notice you let your hair grown a bit longer, not to mention you're taller too, Tony."

"Heh! Eet's been a while seence I've 'eard zat neeck name. I guess zat's what 'appens to a man een seex years. We grow, een many ways."

"Yeah. And if we're lucky, we grow in ways that make us irresistible to the ladies, _if ya know what I mean_?"

The coyote blushed a bit, rousing a laugh from Sonic.

"Some theengs never change, do zey Soneek?"

"Hey, just because ya grow up doesn't mean ya can't be young at heart."

"Oui. Zat ees zee truth."

"Well, that's enough chit-chat. What brings ya out here, Antoine?"

"I came to talk to you about some theengs."

"Really? Well, give me a bit. I'm gonna finish my evening run, then I'll be back. See ya!"

Sonic got into a running stance, but Antoine grabbed his arm.

"What's up?" Sonic asked.

"Soneek... we need to talk... _now_..."

The coyote let go of Sonic's arm and the hedgehog turned to face his friend.

"Come on, bud. Can't I finish my run?"

"Zis eez important... please, step eenside my car."

Sonic took the shotgun seat as Ant got into the driver's seat. The look on Ant's face made Sonic grow even more curious as to what was the matter.

"What's going on, Antoine? You wouldn't have traveled out here all the way out here by yourself unless it was really important."

"Eet eez..."

"Well, what is it?"

"...Zis has to do with your brother..."

Sonic's ears perked up at hearing that.

"What's wrong with Manic? Is he OK?"

"Non... he's... een trouble..."

"Trouble?"

"Oui... big trouble."

"What happened to him?"

"Zere ees no easy way to tell you zis, Sonic... but Maneek has... committed a creeminal act..."

The hedgehog's eyes widened at hearing this.

"What did he do?"

"...He took an order..."

"What do you mean by... _order_?"

"He has stolen some theengs."

"Stolen... things?... Please don't tell me it was something bad..."

"Eet ees."

"Drugs?... Guns?... Illegal contraband?"

"...Automobeels..."

Sonic sat back in his seat and stared at the ceiling, propping his feet up on the dashboard.

"Manic... is stealing cars... Sure, he was once a pick-pocketer, and he stole things for us when we were fighting the war years ago... But all of that was for a purpose... Why?... Why's he doing this?..." Sonic said in disbelief.

"Zat eez where zee other 'alf of zee story comes een, Sonic."

"You mean there's more to this?..." Sonic said, almost afraid to think it could be worse than this.

"Oui... Last night zee safe 'ouse zat zee cars Maneek was stealing was found by zee police. Now, Manic ees on zee run..."

"You mean from the police?"

"No... from my boss... zee same person who 'ired Maneek. Zee same person who sent me to geet you."

Sonic sat up, his curiosity peaked.

"Who is it?"

"... Ivo Robotneek..."

For a few seconds, Sonic could only stare, hoping his ears had failed him. But the coyote's body language told him he'd heard right.

"...Robotnik?..."

"Robotneek."

"Ant... you... and my brother... are working for Ro_butt_nik!"

"...Oui... zat ees correct."

Sonic let out a sigh and rubbed his face his his gloved hands.

"I defeated him, Ant... Six years ago... This was supposed to be done... He's supposed to be dead!"

He then looked up at his friend, an expression of both disbelief and disappointment covering his face.

"What happened Ant? The last time I checked in with you guys everything was fine. You were training to become a professional sword fighter, Manic was living happily, and Robotnik was defeated. But now this! Robotnik is back, you're for some reason working for him, and Manic is stealing cars! What the hell happened!"

"Een about zee past year or so, rumors beegan to spread zat Robotneek resurfeeced and started to regain power een zze past few years. But zis time eet eez deeferent. Robotneek ees not zee way you remember heem. He eez more eenterested een eelegal beesiness zan world domeenation now. So when Robotneek found me, he wanted me to work for heem. Eef I deedn't, he would 'ave... keeled me. So I had no choice. Robotneek forced me to work for 'im."

"So where and/or how does Manic stealing cars fit into all of this?"

"As I said, Robotneek eez een eelegal beesiness. Last Friday, he put up zee order for zee cars. Manic took zee job in zee 'opes of negotiating my release once zee job was done."

"In other words... Manic tried to be the hero by taking the job to try and save you?"

"Oui."

Sonic paused for a moment, trying to take all of this in.

"And so now Robotnik is after my brother for screwing up the job?"

"Oui. I told Manic to, how you say, hide, but I deedn't mention you. I deedn't t'ink zat eet would be wise to bring you up seence you 'aven't been around for a long time."

Sonic was deep in thought, considering all that he'd just learned and how he was going to help his brother.

"Do you know where Manic went?"

"Oui. I just hope zat we can get back to Station Square before Robotneek can find him."

"Let's get going then. I want to get back before Robotnik can-"

An electronic ring came from Ant's pocket. Taking out his cellphone, Ant answered the call, fearing the worst.

"Oui?... I see... No, I deedn't... I eento heez his brother eenstead... Oui, zat eez what I said... He's 'ere. Do you weesh to speak weeth 'eem?... OK... Oui... We'll be zere een about seex hours... Au revoir..."

Antoine put his phone away, quivering and whimpering a little. Sonic now feared he was about to get bad news.

"Zey found Manic... and he's being held capteeve by Robotneek... He wants to see you..."

Sonic looked out the front windshield, pondering his current situation.

"...Take me to him..."

Without another word, Ant started the car and they started the long drive back to Station Square.

* * *

Once again, it was nearly midnight. Already a whole day had passed since the fiasco last night. Currently, Sonic and Antoine were crossing over the orange suspension bridge leading to the docks. For most of the trip, both beings had remained relatively silent. Only once they started getting close to the city did they start to engage in conversation. Sonic filled Ant in on what he'd been doing over the years, which mostly consisted of where he'd ran and what he'd seen. On a darker note, Ant filled Sonic in on the things that Robotnik and had been up to. Needless to say, Sonic hadn't been too happy to here that Robotnik had risen again and become a criminal kingpin in Station Square, nor that Manic had taken up the car order in the hopes of negotiating with Robotnik, a next to impossible task. By now they'd crossed over the bridge and driven to a scrap yard along the river running through the city.

"Zis eez zee place."

Once inside the establishment, the true terror of the junk yard was revealed. Everywhere there were mountains of unrecognizable metal scraps, stacks of dilapidated automobiles, massive cranes shifting scrap materials from one place to another, and numerous robotic vehicles carting materials in and out. There were also various machines that were crushing or shredding metal materials, along with countless conveyor belts that were transporting materials every which way. Sonic could also see what appeared to be a shipyard and docks adjacent to the establishment they were currently in. The car came to a stop outside of a large building with towering smokestacks that were pillowing dark clouds of black smoke, along with an occasional burst of flame. There were also lots of loud noises and lights coming out of it as well.

"Robotneek ees in 'ere."

Sonic went to open his door when Antoine grabbed his shoulder.

"Soneek... I know zat you despise zis man... I know zat you have a 'istory with him... Needless to say I agree weeth you... but for zee sake of me, Maneek, and yourself... please... please keep your temper under control."

Sonic's only response was a simple nod. Exiting the car, the two proceeded into the nearby building via a large metal door with a comm. unit on it and a scanning pad. Antoine placed his bare hand on the scanner and it read his hand. A small device then stuck out from the contraption and scanned the coyote's retinas. Finally, a small microphone raised up.

"Antoine D'Coolette," the coyote said clearly and slowly.

A few beeping sounds and lights came from the device.

"Voice sample accepted. Access granted," the device said in a monotone, sexless voice.

The door opened automatically. The moment it did, a wave of heat blasted Sonic and Antoine in the face, along with a painfully bright, red-orange light. It took a moment for Sonic's eyes to adjust, but once they did, he found himself looking into a metal refining and smelting plant. Stepping inside, the door shut behind them. The environment was awful. A heavy smoke smell filled the air as ear-splitting noises and bright lights made it miserable to be inside.

"Come on. Zis eez zee fastest way."

Antoine started climbing a metal ladder that lead to a catwalk up in the air. Sonic followed, climbing the ladder while looking around. Once at the top, they started crossing the catwalk. At this elevation, the conditions were even worse than on the ground. The smells were worse, the light was brighter, the noise was louder, and there was a lot of steam. Despite this, Sonic got a pretty good look around. Everywhere he looked were various machines filled with white hot molten metal that were making sounds that caused pain to listen to. In addition, there were all types of mechanical arms, conveyor belts, and cranes transporting materials to various locations. Most terrifying of all, there were several exposed rivers of molten metal running through various parts of the refinery. One such river ran directly below the catwalk the two were walking across. Sonic could see the heat ripples rising right up and hitting him, causing sweat to pour from his skin and dampen his blue fur. In addition, Sonic's shoes seemed to be sticking to the cat walk. The rubber of the soles had actually started to melt a little.

"Ant... how much farther? This place is awful!"

"Eet's just up ahead!"

Quickening their pace, the two made it the rest of the way over the walkway and made it to a large, well-sheltered control room situated on metal stilts with a metal lift attached to it. The two Mobians hurried up to a door and entered the room. Antoine then led Sonic towards another door labeled "Director of Operations" and walked inside. Once inside, they both took a breath of relief. This room was quiet, better lit, and comfortably cool thanks to an air-conditioning system. Looking around, Sonic saw that this room was quiet large, though a lot of space was taken up by other things. Everywhere there were all types of machines and tools that were unlike what most ordinary people had seen before. There were many completed and in-progress projects that were situated about the room. Also, there were many work benches and tables that also had smaller projects and contraptions on them. That's when Sonic spotted an unmistakable figure sitting at one such table on the far side of the room, facing the opposite direction. The two cautiously approached, with Antoine feeling afraid while Sonic's fur began to stand up a bit from a deep-down feeling of hatred. Standing behind the figure now, the two stopped and Antoine spoke.

"Dr. Ivo Robotneek... Soneek zee 'edgehog."

The fat man's head perked up.

"I was starting to wonder whether I'd ever see you again," Robotnik said in his low, dark, almost satanic voice.

The genius put down his screw driver he was using on his invention and spun around on his swivel chair. A grin crossed Robotnik's lips as he looked down upon the blue hedgehog he knew all too well.

"Sonic the Hedgehog... it's been a long time."


	4. A Deadly Catch 22

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

There's been an important casting change made. Due to my unhappiness with the Sonic X character Chris, I have replaced him with Rotor the Walrus from the SatAM Sonic cartoon and comic books. Other than replacing the character, no other significant change to the dialog or story itself has occurred. Therefore, if you wish to go back and see the changes made, feel free. However, if you don't do so, then you will be fine, as you will have not missed anything important.

Also, you'll note that the title of this story has been changed to "The Fastest Thief Alive." I was never too happy with the previous title, so I tired to figure something else out, and this is what I came up with.

Lastly, I'd like to say to those who've read the old version, this chapter is much different than before and essentially combines two chapters from last time. I am much happier with how this chapter turned out. It's far more exiting and far more suspenseful IMO.

Sorry for any inconveniences I've caused with these changes. Here's chapter 4!

* * *

**Chapter 4** - A Deadly Catch-22

It was never a particular pleasure of Sonic's to stand before Robotnik back during the war. The same held true for now as well. There was Robotnik, practically the same as the last time Sonic saw him. There was the very same massively obese man with his red, yellow, black, and gray uniform with a yellow cape, black boots, robotic left arm, orange frizzy mustache, and those ever-dreadful black eyes with red pupils. Even after six years, Robotnik still sent a bit of a shiver down Sonic's spine from his appearance. In hand with that was the feeling of hatred Sonic has against the evil genius, which was stronger now with all that had recently unfolded. But remembering what Antoine had told him, Sonic tried to play it cool and buried his feelings.

"Robotnik... you're looking... remarkably how I remember you. I guess post-war life has been good to you," Sonic said.

"That's an understatement, Sonic. Things have been fantastic for me."

"Well that's nice to hear," Sonic said, with sarcasm in his voice.

"You, on the other hand, have changed over the years, Sonic. Why, I remember in the good old days when you were the puny little hedgehog that I hated so much. Now you're all grown up. Amazing... where does the time go?"

"Not too sure about that. But I'm pretty sure that your hatred for me hasn't changed."

"All to true, hedgehog. You'll always be a bastard in my eyes for all the trouble you've caused me in life."

"Well, I hate to tell ya this, but I feel the same way about you, Ro**_butt_**nik."

Off to the side, Antoine made a half-grunt half-whimper to try and tell Sonic to watch what he was saying. Surprisingly, Robotnik only laughed at the insult.

"Some things never change, do they Sonic?"

"Some things don't. But apparently others do. Case in point, since when has world domination lost its luster to you?"

"Well, seeing how you destroyed the empire I worked so hard to create, I was left with nothing on that path. So, I looked at what I still had. And that's when I figured out that I might be able to make a living in the business world with this scrap yard and refinery. After all, these days the world is all about recycling, and with my refinery here, I'm both conducting a business and doing a service for others. That way, everybody is happy."

"Since when have you cared about other people? Did you finally find a soft spot in your cold, metal heart for society?"

Once again, Antoine made a small noise to indicate Sonic was pushing too far, but it went ignored.

"Society? HA! You assume that's what I meant. Oh sure, it may appear that I'm doing the world a favor by recycling metal, and that's exactly what I want. The recycling operation is a front, no more, no less. With the front in place, I can conduct my "business" with my customers and partners with little to no distractions. The beautiful thing is that everybody looks at me now and they think they're looking at somebody who's trying to mend they're ways. Truth is, if I could rise to where I was six years ago, I'd jump at the chance in a second."

"So if you don't care about anybody, then why'd you pull Antoine into all this?"

"Ahhh... I'm glad you asked that. You see Sonic, as a businessman, I have a certain reputation to keep up. I must present myself in a respectable fashion, otherwise nobody would want to do business with me. So, when I found Antoine, I saw an excellent business opportunity if I could convince him to work for me. What better way to present myself than to hire somebody I was once on bad terms with and show I can work together peacefully with them? Plus, it shows that I'm building a multicultural workforce, another positive for me."

"Convince him to work for _you_? Yeah right!"

Yet again, Antonie grunted in warning, this time loud enough to be clearly heard.

"For your information, I made Antoine an offer he couldn't refuse. In exchange for working for me, he gets fair hours, I allow him to take days off, and I give him a salary. Yes, I do pay Antoine. And where do you think he got that BMW he's been driving around in? Yes, I got that for him too. The only requirements is that Antoine has to live on site in living quarters I set up for him, leaving only on off days or when I send him on a business trip. Also, he must not disclose any information on what jobs I have him doing outside of what I tell he can say, and he must assist me in keeping my business alive. So long as he does that, all is well. Now you tell me, isn't that a generous offer?"

"Generous? You're making him live in a junk yard and conduct illegal business! Sounds more like torture if you ask me."

"Well, if that's how you feel, then all I can say is you are terribly mistaken. I treat my employees well, right Antoine?"

"Oui oui! I salute you, Dr. Robotneek!" Antoine announced, clearly forcing the pride

"There, you see Sonic? I told you. Now then, enough about Antoine and myself. Let's more on to-"

"Where my brother is," Sonic said, finishing the sentence.

Robotnik cocked an eyebrow at Sonic's sudden attitude swing. Getting up from his chair, Robotnik began to walk around the various work tables.

"... Onto something a but more interesting. As you can see Sonic, though I'm in business these days, my gift of invention is still sharp as ever. Take a look at some of my most recent projects. Here's a set of new hover shoes, capable of faster speeds and more stable flight than any previous model... and here's a new and improved plasma rifle that shoots the purest plasma I've ever been able to achieve... and for the_ pièce de résistance, _as Antoine would say,a chaos-emerald powered machine that will turn any non-precious metal into a precious metal, like silver, gold, or even platinum. To date, I consider it the most valuable invention I've ever come up with. With just a little bi more work, it'll be working like a charm."

"Where is he?" Sonic asked again.

"Someday I hope to be able to sell these little beauties on the black market and make a huge profit, you know," Eggman said, ignoring the question.

"Tell me where he is," Sonic pressed, growing impatient.

"You know Sonic, there was actually a time after the war I tried working with wood. I don't know how I ever came up with such a stupid idea. Wood is too warm, clean, and it's provided by nature. But metal... it's cold, strong, and refined by man. It makes me all tingly inside when I think of all the wonderful things I can do with metal._."_

Robotnik took great pleasure in rubbing his hands together pleasurably and smiling to himself. Sonic was fed up of waiting to hear of his brother's location.

"I asked you a question, Robotnik. I want an answer. _NOW_," the hedgehog said, crossing his arms.

The obese man let out a grunt of frustration and slouched his shoulders.

"Alright, Sonic! Be that way! I try to have a casual conversation and catch up in a friendly way, but NOOOOOO! You wanna be inconsiderate to my hospitality! Well, you want to be strictly business? Fine!"

In a huff, Robotnik stomped off to an office with a desk that looked like it was meant for paperwork rather than inventing. Antoine and Sonic followed. The coyote threw a look of caution to Sonic, trying to warn him to watch his temper, but Sonic didn't see it. Sonic stood at the front of the desk while Antoine waited off to the side. Robotnik flopped down in a leather swivel chair and pulled a large manila envelope and set it down on the desk.

"In that envelope you'll find the list of top-end cars that I need stolen for me."

Reluctantly, Sonic took the envelope and pulled out its contents. He found a single, computer-typed list of the cars in alphabetical order by manufacturer, along with the model name and model year desired.

_ "Ho...ly... shit…"_

That was all Sonic could think when he saw the the list. The cars that were on it were far beyond what Sonic had been expecting, as it consisted of one hundred ultra-rare exotic, classic, prototype, and race cars, with the total value of them all reaching well into the millions. Sonic wasn't one for admitting that something was impossible, but he admitted to himself completing this list was just that. Sonic tucked the list back into the envelope and put it back down on the desk.

"It's impossible, Robotnik. There's no way that anybody could get all of those cars from one area."

"Hahahaha... Impossible, you say? I never thought I'd hear you say that... But let me tell you a little secret, Sonic... That list was compiled from cars that are currently in Station Square. So don't worry. If you look hard enough and don't mess around, you'll get them all."

Though this was meant to be a reassuring fact, Sonic still wasn't any more inclined to do this .After all, he was a hero. He'd never done a bad deed in his whole life, and he wasn't going to start now.

"I'm not doing it, Robotnik. No way."

Surprisingly, Robotnik smiled.

"I'm paying ten million dollars for the job to be completed, Sonic."

"I wouldn't care if you paying ten trillion dollars. I'm here for my brother. Nothing more."

Robotnik sighed and sat back in his chair.

"You know, Sonic... if I'd known it would have ended up being this much of a hassle, I would never have hired Manic to do this. I originally had another interested party who would have been more than capable of getting the job done. When I heard about Manic, I figured since he was the brother of the famous Sonic the Hedgehog, choosing him to do the job wouldn't be a wise decision. But after learning he had skills a thief, I went against my instinct, turned down the other party, and hired him anyway. Looks like that was a big mistake, because now I have no cars at all."

"Ain't that a bitch," Sonic said, displaying his signature smirk.

"You're damn right it is!," Robotnik said darkly, standing up so quick it knocked his chair over. "This is every bit your problem as it is mine! Because of Manic I don't have the hundred top-end cars I said I would have! If I don't get those cars to my customers, I'll be in big trouble! As it is, I have connections and orders from some of the higher-ups in GUN, and they kindly see that I'm left alone to do my business so long as I keep my end on the bargains I make. If I don't come through with this, then my GUN connections will turn they're backs on me and I'll go to federal prison! I'M NOT GOING TO PRISON BECAUSE OF YOU'RE JACKASS BROTHER, **_GOT IT_**!"

Sonic's patience finally vanished.

"The only jackass is you, Ro**_butt_**nik! If we pin a tail to your fat ass and strap a saddle on your back, you'll look just like one!"

Robotnik's face went red with rage. He picked up the envelope and tossed it at Sonic's face. The hedgehog caught it an instant before it hit him in the eye.

"Fulfill that list, you bastard hedgehog!"Robotnik screamed.

"KISS... MY... ASS!," Sonic screamed back, tearing the envelope up with each pause in his speech.

Sonic then threw the pieces over his shoulder. Robotnik leaned over his desk while leaning on his hands.

"Finish that damn list you miserable rodent..." Robotnik seethed.

Sonic leaned over the desk in the same manner as his adversary. Their faces were only a few inches apart.

"For the last...damn...time... I'm not going to work for you... I'm not going to become a thief... Now… where_… _the_ hell.. _is my brother?..." Sonic seethed.

Robotnik stood up with a vicious glare beaming down on Sonic.

"You want you're brother? Fine..."

Eggman quickly exited the room and out into the refinery. For a moment, Sonic and Antoine were left alone. But as the hedgehog went to leave, Ant forcefully grabbed Sonic by his shoulders.

"What eez zee matter weeth you, Soneek! I told you not to get heem angry! Deedn't you listen to me! What were you theenking!"

Sonic pushed the coyote away.

"I'm getting my brother and then I'm getting out of this city. I'm not turning into a thief for anybody. Let Robuttnik deal with his own problems. I'm here for Manic. Nothing more."

"Antoine! Bring the hedgehog to my laboratory! NOW!" Robotnik's voice said from a speaker in the room.

Antoine straightened his jacket and scowled at Sonic.

"You should 'ave leestened to me, Soneek. Eet weell only be worse now."

"Worse? How could it possibly get any worse, Ant!"

The coyote's only response was to swallow nervously and motion for Sonic to follow him back out into the refinery. Though Sonic was still furious at what Robotnik had said, he was starting to regret having pushed Robotnik's buttons. After all, Sonic saw with his own eyes that Robotnik hadn't lost his inventive touch, and in the past six years, there was no knowing what Eggman could have come up with in that time to cause trouble. After a minute or so of traveling, the duo reached the laboratory and entered it, feeling relieved to get out of the misery in the refinery. But the relief was short lived, for there was somebody else in the room that Sonic knew and despised.

"Sonic... I'm sure you remember my nephew... Snively," Robotnik said, stepping aside to reveal the previously mentioned being.

"Well hello, Sonic. Long time, no see," Snivley, who still wore the same green outfit and still only had a few wisps of hair, said in his nasally voice.

Suddenly, Sonic's insides began to churn as he looked around. In this lab were all types of inventions far more sinister looking than before. There were unfinished and finished robots of all sorts, various bio-mechanical creations floating in tubes of glowing life-sustaining fluids, and many other various machines, some brand new and others long past their primes. But what was causing Sonic the most discomfort was the machine Robotnik and Snively were standing in front of. The computers, the screens, the buttons, and the platform attached to the creation were starting stir some of the darkest memories in the deepest recesses of Sonic's mind.

"Sonic... say hello... to the new and improved... **_Roboticizer_**."

Sonic couldn't help but quiver. There it was, the machine that could take any living organism and transform it into a robotic being. Six years ago when the war ended this barbaric invention had been destroyed, never to reek havoc upon the world again. But here it was again, completely rebuilt, ready to run, and if so desired, to destroy many more lives. A mixed feeling of anger, surprise, and fear over came Sonic as he looked upon the machine that he'd prayed would never return. With every nerve resisting to do so, Sonic looked at the stage where the roboticization process occurred, only to find the glass tube where the occupants went was now made of fogged glass, hiding what was inside.

"Snively... kindly show the hedgehog... what's behind door number one..."

"Yes sir," Snively said with an evil smirk.

With the push of a button, the glass turned from fogged to clear glass. Sonic's guts twisted about when he saw what it revealed. An unconscious green hedgehog.

"**MANIC!**"

Sonic dashed over to the machine and pounded on the glass, calling his brother's name, bhe green hedgehog did not respond.. Robotnik and Snively looked on with satisfied grins on their faces, knowing how troubled Sonic was feeling. Antoine, on the other hand, closed his eyes and held his breath, trying not to cry as he watched his friend suffer.

"Manic! Wake up! It's your brother, Sonic! Wake up!" Sonic shouted, pounding the glass with his fists.

A sudden fear of the worst shot across Sonic's mind and he spun around to Robotnik with fire in his eyes.

"What the hell did you do to my brother!"

"Relax, hedgehog. He's just been given a mild sedative. He should be coming out of it any second now."

Sure enough, Sonic could hear Manic groan as the drug began to wear off. Looking back at Manic's prison, Sonic could see his brother regain consciousness and start to look around in confusion.

"...H...huh?... Wha..What.. the? Where... am I?" Manic said groggily.

"MANIC!"

The green hedgehog's ears flicked at the sound of the familiar voice. Looking up, he spied a blue hedgehog right in front of him.

"...Sonic?... Sonic, is that you?"

Sonic nodded.

"Oh my God..." Manic said quietly in disbelief.

"You alright, Manic?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm alright."

"Not for long..." Snively said darkly.

Both hedgehogs looked over, equally curious and frightened by what that meant. A large screen on the main computer for the machine read "READY TO ROBOTICIZE." Manic looked to his brother in fear, but Sonic was looking Robontik right in the eyes. The fat man had his hand placed on a lever that would undoubtedly start the machine. Somehow, the evil genius read Sonic's mind.

"Sonic... the only thing I wanna hear out of your mouth is 'I'll do it'," Robotnik said threateningly.

"Robotnik... don't you even think about-"

"Wrong answer!" the fat man said, smashing the level down.

Sonic felt like he'd been hit by lightning and a train at the exact same moment as he watched the lever go into the "ON" position, and with a bunch of mechanical and electric sounds, the machine activated. By the time he looked back, Sonic's sibling was spasming wildly as a strange red aura formed around him. Manic's eyes rolled up into his head as his convulsions continued and he began crying out in pain and fear.

"S-S-SON...IC!...H-HELP M...MEEEE!" Manic managed to say in between wails of intense suffering.

For a moment, Sonic was frozen in place by what was occurring. Right before his eyes, Manic was being robbed of his body, mind, and soul in the most painful, brutal, and inhumane fashion that the world had ever known. Knowing if he did not act now, Manic would be robbed of his free will and turned into a lifeless robot who'd be forced to work for Robotnik. In a blue flash, Sonic first ran to Antoine and snatched the coyote's sword from out of the weapon's sheathe. Then, he pushed Antoine away and pivoted around, got into a charging stance, and aimed the blade right at Robotnik, ready the ram the weapon right through his adversary.

"SHUT IT OFF OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO A SHISH KABOB!" the hedgehog ordered.

Snively drew a Glock 17 pistol from his utility belt and aimed it at Sonic. What Sonic didn't expect was to hear another gun be drawn from behind him. In the reflection of the glass of the roboticizer Sonic could see that Antoine also had a Glock 17 in his hands and was pointing it at him. Once again, Sonic was stunned motionless by the fact that his own friend was going against him.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH! STOP!... PLEASE!..." Manic pleaded to anybody who would listen.

The cry for help brought Sonic back to reality and he once again focused his sights on Robotnik.

"You have about thirty seconds until your brother is my slave! Let me give you your options!" Robotnik said threateningly.

"TURN IT OFF, _**NOW**_!" Sonic roared.

Simultaneously, Sonic saw Snively take a step forward and heard Antoine do the same behind him, both of them tightening their grips on their lasers.

"Option A! You kill me, my assistants kill you, and Manic gets roboticized anyway!"

"**DAMN YOU! TURN IT OFF!**" Sonic shrieked, his hands beginning to quiver with rage.

"Option B! You act like a coward, take your brother, and ditch town. In that case, I'll hunt you down, kill you, your brother, your sister, and then roboticize everybody you know for all the trouble you've caused me!"

"_**GAAAAAAAAH!**_" Manic yelled, his body writhing out of control.

A dangerous, intense growl released itself from Sonic's throat as he flexed his muscles deeper into his stance, ready to charge. Antoine actually pressed the tip of his gun against the back of Sonic's head, but the hedgehog was so enraged he didn't notice.

"Option C! You accept the fact that you have to break the law and work for me! You steal me some damn nice cars, you become rich at my expense, and in the end, you'll be a hero and save your brother."

At that moment, Sonic's veins filled with adrenaline and he prepared to drive the blade threw the metallic heart. With his speed, he was more than capable of killing Robotnik, disarming both Snively and Antoine, deactivating the machine, and escaping with his brother before anybody could react. But the nanosecond before Sonic went to make his move, Antoine hit Sonic on the back of the head with his pistol. The hit stunned Sonic a bit and he toppled forward, dropping the sword. Antoine then grabbed a fistful of the hedgehog's quills with his left hand and shoved the gun right up against his friend's cheek. The coyote lowered his head right next to Sonic's ear as the hedgehog burned with white-hot rage at the betrayal of his friend. That was, at least, until he heard the coyote speak.

"Leesten to me! You must do zis, or Maneek will die! Please, Soneek..." Antoine whimpered into Sonic's ear.

Antoine's sincerely caring voice managed to penetrate through the hedgehog's anger just long enough for Sonic to think clearly. Inside the machine of doom, Manic was no longer coherent of where he was or what was happening to him. All that came from his mouth was indecipherable gibberish and drool while his body was starting to go rigid, meaning a grizzly metallic death was about to occur. So many thoughts went through Sonic's head at that moment. He wanted to save his brother without taking the job, but he had to take the job in order to save Manic. Either way, Sonic was damned, for he was stuck in a true "Catch-22" situation.

"I... don't know!..." Sonic stuttered, trying to make the right decision.

But there was no right decision in this situation in this case. It was either have the death of his brother or a horrible crime be blamed upon him. Neither was acceptable, but one had to be taken.

"I!... I!..."

Sonic's fists tightened into two shaking fists. The frustration of this situation was unbearable. His life's work or his family. Neither could be left to die, but neither could be lost.

"**MAKE A DECISION! WHAT WILL YOU DO!**" Robotnik insisted.

An ear-piercing scream escaped from Manic as the process had reached the point where his flesh would start turning to metal unless the machine where stopped now.

"**ANSWER ME, HEDGEHOG! ANSWER ME! ****NOW!****_ ANSWER ME!_**"

With a roar of frustration just as loud as Manic's, Sonic slammed down his fists onto the floor. Whether is was from all the pressure, something deep within Sonic's conscience, or an act from above, caused something in Sonic to be trigged, and a single phrase escaped the hedgehog's throat.

"_**I'LL DO IT!**_"

With the pull of the lever, the roboticizer ceased its transformation progress, and not a moment too soon. A bitter-sweet sensation ran over Sonic, for he knew now that Manic would be alright, but also that Robotnik had gotten what he wanted. Without even looking up, Sonic could feel Robotnik's black and red eyes beaming down on him, surely about to question his response he'd just made. The evil genius pondered the hedgehog before him, not sure if this was a trick or not.

"I don't know, Snively. Do you think the hedgehog is telling the truth?"

"There is one very easy way to find out, sir." Snively said, looking up at the machine's activation lever.

"Quite right, Snively. Perhaps if I just pull this lever again-"

"DAMMIT! What more do you want! I said I'd do it!"

"What more do I want?... Look me in the eyes, and say it one more time."

Sonic reluctantly did as he was told and repeated that he'd do the job. Robotnik's eyes pierced right into Sonic's, and he could tell that the hedgehog was in distress from having to take the job. Finally convinced, Robotnik lowered his hand from the start lever.

"Release the prisoner, Snivley."

"Yes sir," the assistant said, pushing a button.

The glass prison surrounding Manic rose up from the platform. Sonic wasted no time rushing over to his brother's side.

"Manic?... Are you alright?" Sonic asked, nudging his brother's shoulder.

"AH! AHH! DON'T!..."

"Relax, bro. Just relax. You'll be alright."

Sonic heard somebody walk up behind him and something came to rest on his shoulder. Sonic looked back, finding Robotnik holding a folded up piece of paper that was no doubt a new copy of the list of desired autos. Sonic pulled away while standing up, giving the fat man an angry glare.

"I do believe you'll be needing this, hedgehog."

Sonic wished nothing more than to stuff Robotnik into the roboticizer and turn him into a chunk of metal, then melt him in one of the many machines with molten material in it. But enough had already happened tonight and Sonic didn't want to risk any more lives. With great hesitance, Sonic took the list from Robotnik.

"You'd better keep that in a safe place, hedgehog. Wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands now, would we?"

To satisfy Robotnik, Sonic took off his left shoe and took out it's insert. He then placed the folded up list inside, replaced the insert, and put his shoe back on.

"Very good, hedgehog. Have all one-hundred cars to my pier by 8 A.M. Friday morning."

Sonic actually flinched a bit when he heard how short a time period he had to do this job.

"You're joking... right?" Sonic asked nervously.

"I do not joke about my business, Sonic. And just so you know..." Eggman continued, leaning down to eye level with the hedgehog, "if you don't complete this list for **_any_** reason, Manic gets roboticized, NO EXCEPTIONS. So if I were you, I'd figure out how to get those cars as fast as you can and make sure that you don't lose them like your brother did."

Robotnik got back onto his feet, looking down upon the blue hedgehog.

"You may go now, Sonic. Your brother as well. I have no further business with either of you... for now."

Sonic was more than happy to not have to face Robotnik anymore. The blue hedgehog went to his green sibling and tried to help get Manic to his feet. The green hedgehog was still moaning in pain and was still quite dazed from the experience. In fact, Manic could not walk that well and actually pulled Sonic down to the floor.

"Antoine..." Robotnik said exasperated.

"Oui, Dr. Robotneek?"

"Help Sonic with his brother. In fact, take them to wherever they would like to go, then report back to me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Oui oui! Very clear, sir! Very clear!"

"Then get to it."

Antoine put one of Manic's arms around his neck while Sonic did the same with Manic's other arm and they both helped get the weary hedgehog to his feet. Slowly, the three of them made their way to a side exit that read "Elevator."

"Nice doing business with you, hedgehog," Robotnik taunted.

Sonic shot Robotnik a glare out of the corned of his eye but said nothing.


	5. Brothers Reunited

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTES**:**  
**

I can barely begin to say how truly sorry I am for having made you guys wait this long for this chapter. But this semester in college I have much more intense classes and therefore have had little to no time to work on my writing.

Currently I'm on a week-long vacation, so I'm giving you some long-overdue updates. In addition to this update, my other current story, "Last Action Hedgehog," has been updated too. Check it out when you get a chance.

Lastly, I had to extend chapter 4. The beginning I had for this chapter didn't fit well with the rest of the plot, so I tagged it onto the end of chapter 4 just after Sonic accepts the job. I suggest picking up from there and then continuing on to this chapter.

And on that note, here's chapter 5!

* * *

**Chapter 5** - Brothers Reunited

Antoine's BMW pulled up in front of Manic's house later that night. It was a rather shabby place on the edge of the city that overlooked the skyline and the docks. The house showed obvious signs of neglect and the yard was just about as overgrown and Manic's hair. The only thing that looked decent was Manic's black IROC-Z which sat in the driveway in front of a closed garage. Both Sonic and Antoine helped Manic out of the car and to his feet. By now Manic was doing better, but he was still a little wobbly on his feet. The three of them walked up onto the small front porch of the house and set Manic down on a swinging bench to let him rest a bit.

"How ya feeling, Manic?" Sonic asked.

"Like I got my ass kicked," Manic replied in a tired voice.

"Eez eet any better at all?"

"Kinda... but it still hurts like a bitch..."

"I think ya just need some sleep, bro. And maybe a bite to eat."

"Sounds like a good idea..."

Manic this time mustered to stand up by himself and unlock the front door by himself. Meanwhile, Sonic remained out on the porch with Antoine. The hedgehog wanted to have a word with Antoine, but before he could, the coyote's cell phone rang.

"Antoine D'Coolette... Oui, I took zem where zey wanted to go... I weell be back ASAP... Au rev- Oh, oui?... OK..."

Antoine pushed a button on his phone and held it out in front of himself.

"Sonic? Are you there?..." Robotnik said over the speaker phone.

"...Yeah..."

"I'm terribly sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but there's something I just had to tell you."

"If it's anything other than I don't have to work for your fat ass I don't want to hear it."

Antoine cringed when Sonic spoke the insult, fearing that further repercussions might result. Luckily, Robotnik laughed it off.

"I see that you're quite talented at coming up with nicknames these days, Sonic. And that's actually why I for you. With the help of Snively, I've come up with a new nickname for you."

"Oh gee... what _ever_ could it be?" Sonic said very sarcastically.

"Well Sonic, Snivley pointed out to me that in order to pull off this heist in time, you're gonna have to do it as fast as you can. And seeing how you're already fast to begin with... well, we thought that would make you 'The Fastest Thief Alive!"

Both Robotnik and Snively cackled away on the other end of the line at their poor joke. All Sonic did was shut his eyes in disgust.

"What's the matter, Antoine? I don't here you laughing,"

"OH! Uh... haha! That eez an also good one, Dr. Robotneek! Very funny! Hehe!"

"That's better...**NOW GET BACK HERE! YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO FOR ME!**"

Antoine nearly dropped his phone from the sudden shout.

"Oui, oui! On my way, Dr. Robotneek!"

Antoine ended the call on his phone and put the device in his pocket.

"Zat man... He has no seempathy at all... As eef he 'asn't done eenough tonight, he 'as zee nerve to do zat!"

The look that Sonic gave Antoine said it all. The coyote had no business saying who had the nerve to do what, not after the stunt he himself had pulled earlier.

"I know zat you are angry weeth me, Sonic... Zis eez all my fault... Eef I 'adn't been such a, how you say, a bush over when-"

"Push over, Ant." Sonic corrected.

"Yes, a push over when Robotneek first confronted me... None of zis would have ever happened..."

Sonic said nothing and only looked at Antoine in the eyes. Ant's shoulders slouched as he let out a sigh as head let his hands lowered his head.

"I deedn't want to hurt you back zere... Eef I deedn't do what I deed... Robotnik would 'ave been furious with me... And weeth theengs the way zey were, I had to do sometheeng..."

Antoine leaned on the banister running around the porch with his hands, all the while looking down in shame.

"I hate zis, Sonic... I hate eet so much... Zis man... you can't even begeen to understand what eet is like 'aving to work for 'im... Zee theengs he 'as me do... zee places he makes me go... zee people I 'ave to meet... And zat's only zee beegeening! Zen zere eez Robotneek... and... _Sneevely_... Robotneek eez horrible enough... but zat Sneevely... he does aneetheeng and everytheeng tomake me meeserable... He geets me so angry zat sometimes I... I... I WANT TO KEELL HIM!"

Antoine slammed his fists down on the banister so hard it snapped in half. Antoine took several deep breaths, seething through his teeth while he tried to calm down.

"I can't keep doing zis, Sonic... I can't... Eet's taking eet's toll on me... I'm so meeserable zat I 'ave... started 'aving, how you say... thoughts of taking my own life..."

A hand came to rest on Antoine's quivering shoulder. Looking around, he found Sonic looking at him with a sympathetic look.

"Whatever you do, Ant, don't kill yourself. I'd never forgive you for that."

"But... what about all zat I 'ave done tonight?"

"Forget about it," Sonic said, hitting Ant's shoulder reassuringly.

"Are you being serious?"

"I don't hold grudges. Well, except against Robuttnik, but I think that goes without saying."

"Zen... you will 'elp me after you and Manic take car of zis job for Robotneek, despite what I've done?"

"Come on, Ant. You know me. Of course I will."

Antoine's eyes unleashed a waterfall of tears as he leaped forward and embraced Sonic in a back-breaking hug.

"Merci, Sonic!... Merci beaucoup!"" Antoine cried as he planted a kiss on the already incredibly embarrassed hedgehog.

"Uhhh... your welcome?..." Sonic said, leaning back a bit from the awkwardness of the situation.

Next to them a small flash went off and an electronic camera sound could be heard. Both looked over to see Manic with his green flip-open camera-phone pointed at the both of them.

"It's was a Kodak moment," Manic said, prompting his brother to give him a disgusted look.

Finally letting Sonic go, Antoine regained his composure and faced his friends.

"Well... I should geet going... Au revoir."

"Take care of yourself, Ant." Sonic said.

"Yeah, take care, dude."

Antoine saluted the brother hedgehogs, then returned to his BMW and drove off.

"So... you stayin' here tonight, dude?"

Sonic thought for a minute trying to decide what to do.

"Yeah... might as well."

"Cool. Come on in. I'm making something to eat."

The brother's proceeded into the house, headed for the kitchen.

"Manic, you don't have to make me anything to-"

The scent of chili, hot dogs, and cheese suddenly filled the blue hedgehog's nostrils. Sonic's eyes became magnetized to the pots and pans on the stove top with all the fixings for chili dogs.

"You were saying?" Manic said jokingly.

"Nothing!," Sonic replied quickly, gladly taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Manic assembled each of them a plate of three chili dogs and served both himself and Sonic at the table. For a minute or two, the only sounds were of chewing and grunts of pleasure as the two enjoyed their food.

"When'd you learn to cook, Manic?" Sonic asked after they each finished their first two dogs.

"I didn't. This is just heating stuff up."

"Heheheh... Still, I remember a time when you didn't know how to use the microwave." Sonic said smugly.

"Shut up."

The two shared a laugh, then each picked up their last dog at the same time.

"On three?" Manic asked.

"On three." Sonic replied.

"1...2...3!" they said in unison.

Naturally, Sonic was able to scarf down his chili dog long before Manic was even half finished.

"What took ya so long?" Sonic said playfully.

"Like I even had a chance of winning!"

"I hear that, I do," Sonic joked, then let out a long, loud belch.

"Yo dude! I think everybody in the whole city heard that!"

Manic noticed a slight expression change in Sonic all of a sudden

"What's up, dude?"

"Manic...we need to warn everybody else about this."

"What do you mean?"

"You heard what Robotnik said, right?"

"I was almost roboticized, dude. Did you forget?"

"Oh yeah... sorry. Well anyway, Robotnik said that if we ran he'd kill us, then roboticize everybody else."

'There's no way in hell I'm running, Sonic."

"That's not my point. My point is that-"

"If you're worried about others being in danger because they don't know about this, you don't have to."

"Manic... you... told others about this?"

"A few people. I needed some help."

"...Help?..."

"You don't think I took this job on by myself, do you?"

"...Manic... are you telling me that you made others help you with this?"

"Made them? No. I told them what I was doing, and they offered to help."

"...Who helped you?"

"Antoine was there, of course. Along with him, I had... let's see...Ray... Silver... Rotor... and Tails."

Sonic's eyes bulged more and more with each name. Sonic then stood up so quick it sent his chair flying backwards across the floor and toppling into the wall.

"Dammit, Manic! What the hell is wrong with you!?How could--How could you have forced them to do this!?"

"I already told you I didn't force anybody to help me! I told them what was up and they wanted to help! So I let them!"

"You tempted them with the money, didn't you!?"

"Stop putting words in my mouth! You know damn right well why I took the job in the first place!"

"Yeah, so you could get rich quick and look good while you were doing it! I swear Manic, sometimes you're so stupid that-"

Manic's fist broadsided Sonic's cheek. With a fierce growl from both hedgehogs, the two brother's tackled each other and stumbled onto the kitchen table, knocking it over with a horrible clatter. The two of them quarreled about on the floor for a few minutes, but eventually they both pinned each other and couldn't land anymore hits on each other, resulting in a struggling mass of hedgehog bodies on th floor.

"You never grow up, Manic! You _never_ grow up!"

"I was only trying to help a friend!"

"All you did was make things worse, like you always do!"

"Is that so!? Well, at least I was around to do something! Were was your blue ass, huh!? Off running around!"

"That's no excuse, Manic! And you know it!"

"I did what I had to, you stupid mother-"

A sudden high-pitched beeping noise interrupted the fight. Both hedgehog's looked up to see a huge flame coming off of the stove that was starting to catch onto the walls and curtains near the sink.

"Oh **shit**!" Manic yelled, breaking free from Sonic's loosed hold.

"Didn't you shut the burners off!?" Sonic shouted over the smoke alarm.

"Just get up off your ass and help me!" Manic yelled back, tossing Sonic a small fire extinguisher.

The two hedgehogs rushed over to the growing inferno and sprayed the walls and curtains with the extinguishers first. Once they were mostly out, both hedgehog's threw all the pots and pans used to make the food into the sink and turned the water on full blast. With a few more blasts of the extinguishers and some more water, the flames were finally extinguished. Manic put his extinguisher down on the counter and tried to catch his breath.

"Phew... that was close... huh?" Manic said, relieved.

Suddenly, Sonic's face lit up in fear.

"MANIC! YOUR HAIR IS ON FIRE!"

The green hedgehog began screaming like a girl as he grabbed his extinguisher, only to find out it was empty.

"Give me that!" Manic shrieked, stealing Sonic's extinguisher.

Manic recoiled instantly from how cold he extinguisher was when he sprayed himself. Frantically, Manic grabbed some baking soda out of a drawerand dumped it over himself while slapping his own head, then dropped to the ground and rolled about like a maniac, all the while yelling a stream of obscenities. Suddenly, the sound of Sonic laughing caught Manic's attention. He looked up to see his brother looking down at him with a huge smile on his face.

"Got cha!" Sonic said, snickering.

"You dick head!" Manic shouted playfully, tackling his brother to the ground and play-punching him.

After a few minutes of rough-housing and laughing, the two of them settled down and got to their feet. Manic brushed as much of the baking soda off of him as he could.

"That worked almost _too_ well," Sonic said as he continued to snicker at how well his plan had worked.

"Go ahead, laugh it up smart ass," Manic said, frowning a bit.

Jokes aside, both hedgehog's knew what each other was thinking. Sonic held out his hand to his brother.

"We cool, bro?"

Manic griped Sonic's hand and shook it.

"Yeah, were cool dude."

"I guess I'm just a little on edge about all of this," Sonic admitted.

"A little? More like, a lot!"

"Heh.. yeah, well... Man, it really stinks in here now!" Sonic pointed out.

"Eh, it's not that bad, "opening a window to let the smoke out.

"Oh yeah, right. Of course. I forgot you can deal with bad smells since you've come to tolerate sewers."

"Yeah, but what I don't have a tolerance for," Manic said while letting out a long yawn, "is being tired."

"I hear ya on that one, bro. Guess we'll sleep outside while this place airs out."

Manic nodded in approval and the two of them went out front into the brisk night.

"Nice night..." Manic said.

"Yeah..."

"I hope the rest of the guys are enjoying it too..."

Sonic couldn't help but ask something on his mind.

"Manic... mind if I ask you just one more thing?"

"Shoot."

"How did all the other guys avoid capture while you didn't?"

"Well, they all went to our agreed hiding place. Technically I should have gone with them, but... I wanted to take care of something else first. In doing so, I stayed behind too long and got caught."

"Where'd they go?"

"Oh come on, Sonic? Don't ya know?"

Sonic shook his head no.

"And you call me dumb. Where's the one place Robotnik was never able to find?"

The answer came to him instantly. "Knothole Village."

"Damn right."

Sonic smiled upon Manic's choice of hiding place. "I have to admit, that was a pretty good choice for them to hide out, Manic."

"Yeah, I have my moments. And speaking of which, so do you dude. I mean, of all the times for you to be around town it's now."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just good like that. I'm just glad I ran into Antoine, otherwise I woulda stayed out in Red Canyon for a few days before coming into town."

"Is that where Antoine hid?"

"I don't know. That's just where I ran into him."

"Huh... Well, whatever. Antoine said he had a plan so I guess it was to go as far away until the heat died down."

"Makes sense."

"Yup..." Manic yawned once again, causing Sonic to do the same. "Well, if we're gonna get up tomorrow, we'd better get some sleep. I'll take you to everybody tomorrow. We'll catch the train out of the Station Square Train Station. Sound good dude?"

"Sounds good Manic."

"Alright. I'm gonna sleep in the back seat of my Camaro. How bout you?"

"I'll hop up on the hood."

"Just don't scratch it, alright?"

"Heheh... I'll try."

The brothers walked over to the black Camaro in the driveway and Sonic hopped up on the hood, propping his head up with his hands behind his head while leaning on the windshield. Manic, meanwhile, took his car keys out of a small black utility bag on his left hip attached to a black belt. He unlocked his car and got in, rolled down the windows, and got into the backseat.

"Night dude," Manic said, lying down.

"G'night."

Sonic was just about to dose off when he heard his brother's voice one more time.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?..."

"...It's good to see you again, dude..."

Sonic smirked at his brother and gave him a thumbs up. With that, Manic laid down and was asleep instantly. A feeling of relief came over the blue hedgehog as he saw his brother snoozing in the back seat. He was so glad that he'd been able to save Manic and that he was now there for him. Sure they'd just had a little scrap in the kitchen, but what brother didn't have a little fight every now and then. Either way, it felt good to see Manic again. But deep down he knew that this was only the beginning. As it stood, a hundred cars needed to be stolen, and it was up to Sonic to be the hero even if it meant being a criminal. Not only that, but he hoped that the rest of his friends would be able to forgive him for his decision to take the job when he saw them tomorrow. The only way he would know would be to see, and with that, Sonic too fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

I really hope you guys like this chapter more than I do. No matter what I did with this chapter I couldn't get it the way I liked it. It really is only meant to be a bit of a transition chapter, as well as a way to show bonding between Manic and Sonic.

I don't know when the next update will be, so I hope this holds everybody over for a while.

Until next time, hope you liked it. Comments and suggestions always welcome.


	6. A Delayed Start

**Author's Notes:**

I know that saying sorry only goes so far, but to all my fans I offer my deepest apologies for having not updated inwell over two months. All I can say in defense is that my college work takes importance above all else, and since this past semester I had some very intense and busy classes, I just didn't have time to work on a new chapter. It's not all bad news though. All this time away from writing gave me lots of time to think about the chapters ahead and I've come up with some GREAT ideas that I know will have you all begging for more.

Oh, here's another little bit of good news. As I said my college work is of key importance to me. With my hard work and devotion over this past semester I finished the dreaded first year of college with a straight A report card and an averaged GPA of 4.1. Not bad, huh?

Lastly, I'd like to say I've made a few alterations to earlier chapters. None of these are anything you need to be worried about. Most of them are minor dialog improvements or I changed what cars have appeared.

Here's is the very long overdue Chapter 7 of "The Fastest Thief Alive!"

* * *

**Chapter 6** – A Delayed Start

Slowly the sun began to rise over Station Square the next day, Tuesday morning. During the night Sonic found that he wasn't very comfortable lying on the hood of Manic's car so he had moved to the swinging bench on the porch. A ray of light soon fell upon the hedgehog's eyelids, stirring him out of his slumber. Waking up and checking his wristwatch, Sonic saw it was about 8 A.M.

"72 hours till the deadline..." he said quietly to himself.

Sonic became aware of a sound from inside Manic's house; a repeated tapping noise.

"Manic? That you?"

"Yeah. 'Bout time you woke up."

Sonic strolled inside and found Manic lying on a couch in the living room while typing on his laptop.

"What's up?"

"I'm talkin' with Tails on a secure instant-messaging system I created. He says that they can't back until about three today."

"Three! What's the hold up?"

"Well, normally the jet that Tails and the guys used to escape would run on a chaos emerald. They used a fake one Tails made to get out but the one they were gonna use to get back was unstable and lost its power. So now they have to wait for the plane's solar panels to collect enough energy to power them back."

"Great... Well, I guess we could always head out there and meet up with them once they get back."

"Can't do that either dude. I checked the local news and they said there's a problem with the train we need to get out to Tails' place. That won't be fixed until about eleven."

"Dammit... Means we're gonna lose a pretty good chunk of today. That's two strikes for this day," Sonic said in a mildly irritated tone.

"Well get ready for strike three. It seems that when I disconnected my laptop when we escaped from our last hideout I..."

"You?..."

"I unplugged it when a program I created that auto-finds info on the cars we need was auto-saving the newest updates. That data is now corrupted because because I interrupted that program's process."

"You wanna put that in English please? I don't speak computer-geek."

"It means we lost all the data that told us the locations of all the cars we needed."

Sonic flopped down in a recliner in the corner of the room, running his hand through his quills as he thought.

"So where's all this put us, bro?"

"Basically square one."

"... So what do we do?"

"Well... we're gonna have to meet up with the rest of the guys, get the team back together, replace our lost data, and go from there. And since the other dudes won't be back until three, there's not much else we can do right now."

"Can't you at least look up some of the locations of..."

Sonic suddenly stopped himself short of finishing his sentence with a look of shock.

"You alright, dude?"

"I just... I just about asked you to do something illegal. I've never even thought about asking such a thing before, and yet now... it's coming to me like it's second nature."

"No offense, dude, but you're gonna have to get used to it."

"I know, I know...," Sonic said, taking a deep breath. "Is it possible to somehow find the locations of all the cars for the time being?"

"Technically, yes. I _could _find those locations. Problem is that we had a system. Say I find the address of a car. I'd give that to, say Tails, and he'd look up where that location is in the city. Then somebody else, like Rotor, might look up info on that area, the car, who owns it, and so on."

"So in short, you guys all worked together to find the info because it was faster and doing it on your own is really slow."

"Right on."

Sonic stayed quiet for a minute, wondering what they should do.

"Sonic... there is _something _we can do now."

"I'm all ears."

"Well... remember when I said last night that I got caught because I hung around to long?"

"Yeah."

"I was making sure that Sonia would be safe."

Up until this point Sonic had never even thought about how involved their sister really was with all of this.

"Is she alright?"

"Well, that's what we're about to find out."

Manic took out his cell phone and dialed a number. After a few moments of waiting, Sonic could hear a voice on the other end of the line.

"It's Manic... It's good to hear your voice too... Have you two been OK?... Good, good... Nobody came and gave you trouble?... Sweet... Well,you could say I'm alright, I guess... We meet up to talk about all that... Yeah, we're safe now. At least safe enough to meet... Yeah... OK, we'll meet you there in an hour... Alright... See ya soon..."

Manic closed his phone and breathed a sign of relief.

"Sonia is OK... We're gonna meet her in town and get some grub. Guess we oughta start headin' in if we're gonna make it in time. Let's go."

"Nice try, Manic," Sonic said before his brother could get up.

"What?"

"I heard you say 'Have you **_two _**been OK.' If you called Sonia... then who's the other person?"

"... It doesn't matter..." Manic said, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

"There was somebody _else_ you were making sure would be okay... It's a girl... isn't it?"

"... None of your business..." Manic said suspiciously.

"Wrong answer, bro."

Before Manic could react, Sonic used his gift of speed and swiped his brother's phone and run into a nearby bathroom, locking the door so Manic couldn't get in.

"Dammit Sonic! Give me back my phone!," Manic yelled, pounding on the door.

"I'm sure if I check through your contacts then I'll find out who this mystery girl is."

Sonic didn't even have to go that far. As soon as he opened the phone it's menu picture told the tale.

"**NO _WAY!_**"

Outside Manic's shoulders slouched, knowing he'd been caught.

* * *

A short while later the two hedgehogs were driving along in Manic's Camaro, heading downtown for their meeting place with Sonia. Sonic was still chuckling over his discovery.

"Sonic will you shut the hell up already?"

"I'm sorry... I just can't believe... Of **_all _**the people you could have fallen for..."

"Hey HEY! Don't bad mouth my girl!"

Sonic had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. Tears were rolling down his cheeks he was straining so hard to hold back.

"I swear Sonic, if you say anything bad to her when we meet up..."

"Relax, bro... You know I wouldn't do that... It's just... You... her... it's so ironic... IT'S FUNNY!

Manic only rolled his eyes and continued to drive on. Due to the heavy morning traffic it was quite a challenge getting through the city to where they wanted to go. Finally at about ten, an hour late, they arrived out front of a small burger shop right down the road from the Station Square City Hall.

"I don't see them in there, bro," Sonic said.

"Hmm... Oh, I see em. They're over there."

Manic pointed to a small antique shop across the street. Two pink female hedgehogs had just walked outside of the store and started looking around. Manic beeped the horn a few times, catching the duo's attention.

"I hope they won't be too pissed that we're this late," Manic said.

"If they are it should be fun to watched you get owned by two girls."

"Whatever," Manic replied, getting out of the car.

There was a small concrete median with a few walkways and benches in the middle of the road that the girls had just reached. Manic crossed the road and met the two of them their. The darker pink hedgehog gave Manic a very strong hug which was returned by the green brother. Sonic recognized her instantly as his both his and Manic's sister, Sonia. Once Manic was done with Sonia he turned to the other female hedgehog who wasted no time to engage in a rather deep kiss.

"Oh come on guys, you tryin' to make me blow chunks here?" Sonic said quietly to himself.

Sonic noticed that Manic had left his cell phone on the dashboard of his car. Wanting to get Manic back for taking the embarrassing photo of Antoine hugging him from last night, Sonic grabbed the phone and silently got out of the Camaro by going through the open window rather than the door. As quietly as he could Sonic hurried across the street and approached the trio. Sonic opened the phone and put it in camera mode.

"Like, eew! You two are so totally kissing in the middle of a public street!" Sonia, who luckily had her back turned, said to the kissing lovers.

Sonic smirked as he pushed a button on the phone and took a picture. Manic's head whipped around and spied his brother with the phone.

"Do you mind?" Manic replied.

"Sonic?..." Sonia said to the right of her brother.

Sonic turned and faced his sister. As expected she'd grown since he last saw her. She was just about the same height as him, maybe an inch of two shorter. Aside from an increase in height, Sonia was just how she always used to be. She still wore her favorite red top and purple skirt with a gold belt to connect them both. She also still wore her purple with red tipped boots and red stockings. And as always, Sonia had a huge tuft of pink hair on head head that was kept perfectly groomed. Sonic smiled warmly and held out his arms, inviting a hug from his sister.

"**SOOOOOOONIIIIIII_KUUUUUUU_!_"_**

Sonic was tackled to the ground before he could react and became locked in a suffocating grip that he could not escape from. There was only one hedgehog capable of doing this to Sonic. A hedgehog that Sonic knew all to well. It was none other than Sonic's previously self-proclaimed girlfriend, Amy Rose.

"SONIC, YOU'RE BACK! IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!" Amy squealed as she tightened her grip even more on the struggling hedgehog.

"Nice... to... see you... too... Amy!..." Sonic wheezed.

In the midst of all of this, Manic took his phone back form Sonic. A camera flash told Sonic that his brother took another picture of him in yet another uncomfortable situation.

"Manic!... A little help please!" Sonic gasped.

"Heheheh... Come on, Amy. Save some of that lovin' for me," Manic said, helping Amy to her feet.

As Sonic got to his feet he was amazed at how Amy had grown. She'd gotten so much taller, in fact she was just about as tall as Sonia. Her pink downward-hanging quills were now just a little longer than shoulder length and her bangs were longer and fuller. But as tradition would have it, she still wore her favorite red and white dress with matching red and white boots and her gold bracelets around her wrists.

"Geez... you sure haven't forgotten how to just about kill me, Amy," Sonic joked.

"Heheh... You just can't help but love my mischievously cute ways," Amy said cheerfully.

"And _that..._ is why we fell in love," Manic said, pulling Amy back into their kiss that was interrupted.

"Manic this is so barfing me out!" Sonia snapped.

"Tough shit, sis. Deal with it."

This answer earned Manic a slap from both his sister and Amy, causing him to drop his phone.

"That was, like, so rude!" Sonia snapped.

"Maybe Manic needs to be... _taught a lesson..._" Amy said ominously, summoning her giant Piko-Piko hammer out of mid-air.

Seizing the moment, Sonic got his brother back again by taking a picture of him cowering in fear before Amy's hammer.

"Oh don't mind me! I'm just a complete stranger watching three goof balls making fools out of themselves in public!" Sonia said while posing in an exaggerated pout.

"You're just afraid you'd mess up your hair if you took part in our fun," Sonic teased, once again offering a hug.

"Yeah, you're right," Sonia replied, embracing her brother.

"It's good to see you again, sis."

Sonic was expecting his sister to say the same in return, but she didn't. Instead, he noticed that she seemed to tense up, as if she suddenly became worried about something. His suspicions were confirmed when she backed off with a concerned look in her eyes.

"I didn't mess your hair up, did I?" Sonic said, trying to shake his sister's mysterious mood.

"Sonic... forgive me for saying this, but you wouldn't just show up like this unless there was something really wrong."

A glance over at Amy showed that now she too came to realize this.

"Manic... what's going on?" Amy asked.

The two brothers made eye contact and knew that the time had come to bring everybody up to date.

"I'll go get us some food. We'll talk when I get back," Manic said as he walked away.

Both girls watched Manic as he headed towards the store. Both of them could tell from his body language that he had something on his mind. Both then looked to Sonic and found him in a similar state. Now more than ever it was clear that what they were about to learn was bad.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the four hedgehogs in town, Vector and his comrades had just got off of one of the inter-city highways not too far from their current position in their squad car.

"Damn this traffic!" Vector swore as he maneuvered his car through the packed city streets.

"You'd think by 10:30 A.M. it would have cleared out, huh?" Mighty said, sitting in the front passenger seat.

"Not in this city. Practically everybody owns and drives a car," Espio pointed out from the back left.

"You're tellin' me!" Vector said.

"Are we there yet?" Charmy whined from the back right.

"Charmy... you've asked that fifteen times now," Espio said in an irritated tone.

"But I'm hungry! I want something to eat!"

"Come to think of it Charmy I could go for a little something myself. How bout the rest of you guys?"

"I could go for a little bite to eat. And a coffee to get going," Mighty said.

"I'll second that!" Charmy shouted.

"Espio? You want anything?..." Vector asked.

"...Sure..." Espio replied reluctantly.

"The vote is unanimous, then. Let's go get something to chow down."

"I think the closest place is that little burger shop just down the street from City Hall," Mighty suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Let's just hope I can get us out of this traffic and get there before lunch time."

"YAAAAAAAAY!" Charmy squealed.

* * *

The money Manic had spent on food for the four of them was not put to good use. While Sonic and Manic were able to finish most of their food, Sonia and Amy only picked at it at best. During the past half an hour the brothers had told the girls everything, from the news conditions of the job, what would happen if they didn't do the job, the new Roboticizer, how Manic had almost died, how Antoine had gotten pulled into all this, and where they stood now. Everything. The whole time Amy had been clutching Manic's hands out of nervousness. Sonia on the other hand, despite all of the makeup she had on, had turned quite pale.

"Oh Manic... what have you gotten yourself into?..." Sonia said miserably.

"I'm sorry, sis..."

"You're damn right you are! You lied to me! You told me that this was just gonna be a quick, one-night ordeal. Now it's, like, a friggin' disaster!"

"Sonia! Yelling isn't going to make this situation any better," Amy said in defense.

"She's right. This situation doesn't need any more tension," Sonic said.

"You're right, you're right... I'm sorry... I guess I'm just a little on edge from all of this."

"Heh... That's how Sonic was last night. He wanted to beat the hell out of me when I told him who was working with me," Manic pointed out.

"Speaking of which...," Sonic began, looking down at his watch. "It's getting pretty close to when the train out to Tails' place is gonna open back up."

"Yeah, your right dude. Girls, I think we're gonna get going. We've got to meet up with the rest of our team and figure out what we're gonna do."

"Wait..." Sonia said, stopping her brothers. "I'm... I'm coming with you."

"What?" the other three said at the same time.

"I'm going to help you with this."

Both brother's went to rebut her statement, but she responded before they could.

"Don't bother saying I can't help! Last I checked I'm just as part of our family as you two are, and if you two think you can keep me from helping then you've got another thing coming to you!"

Sonic and Manic had looks on their faces like they were going to say no when Amy decided to say something.

"She _is_ your sister, guys. I know this isn't the greatest thing to want to help with, but given the current situation, I think you should at least let _her_ help you."

Sonic and Manic thought this fact over for a minute or so. Their faces told them that Amy was right.

"Alright sis... If, and _only if_ you want to, you can help us with this," Manic said.

"And if at _any_ point, whether it's two minutes from now or two days from now, if you want out, we won't stop you," Sonic added.

Sonia genuinely thought over this offer, but as expected she nodded her head.

"I want to come, guys. I want to help. Really."

The brothers nodded, accepting her request to come with them.

"What about you, Amy?" Sonia asked.

Amy shut her eyes and lowered her head shamefully.

"I'm sorry... I told Manic the first time he asked me that this is something I just can't do... I know things are worse now, but... I still fell the same way... I just can't take part in this."

Manic approached Amy and wrapped his arms around her, looking into her eyes.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Amy. As I've said all along, I'm not forcing anybody to come along or stay with this. You know that."

Amy leaned forward and gently kissed Manic's lips, a gesture that she was glad that her feelings would be respected.

"You'd better get going if you're going to catch your train," Amy said to Manic.

"What about you?"

"I'll catch a cab home. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"OK. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

Another quick kiss and Amy separated from Manic's grip. She then walked over to Sonia and gave her a gentle hug, being careful not to disturb her hair.

"Be careful, Sonia."

"I will, Amy."

Lastly, Amy turned to Sonic.

"Sonic... please don't be mad with me..."

"There's nothing to be mad about. If you want to stay out of this, that's cool."

"That's not what I mean..."

"Then what is it?"

"For so many years I drove you crazy... I chased after you... tried to make you fall for me... And now... I'm in love with your brother... I feel guilty because I bugged you for so long... and now I'm with your brother..."

Sonic rested his hands on Amy's shoulders.

"How many times do I have to say it, Amy? There's nothing to be mad about."

"Y...you really don't mind that I... I'm in love with your brother... despite how I used to feel about you?"

"Come on, Ames. You know me better than that. Who am I to say who you can and can't fall in love with? In fact, I'm really happy for ya. Like they say, a good man is hard to find, and Manic's a good man."

Amy smiled and a tear or two rolled down her cheeks as she gave Sonic a tender hug. Sonic caught Manic gloating about the comment he'd just made over Amy's shoulder and had to stifle a laugh. When they were done, Sonic looked to his two siblings.

"You guys ready?"

Both nodded. Amy stayed on the concrete median, watching as the family of hedgehogs headed for Manic's Camaro. Manic hopped into the driver's seat and turned the key, starting the engine. Sonic took the front passenger seat, or at least tried to. Sonic nudged Sonic out of the way and took the seat.

"Since when do _you _have the right to steal my seat!"

"I always do. I don't sit in the back of a car. That's a rule."

"Your welcome!" Sonic said sarcastically, getting into the very small back seat.

"Whatever," Sonia responded, equally sarcastic.

"If you two don't mind we have about thirty minutes to get through downtown traffic and make this train on time!"

"Then step on it, bro! You know I hate going slow," Sonic said.

The trio started to drive away as Amy watched. Cherishing that thought, Amy flagged down a cab. As she got in, she took one last look at the departing family.

_"It's so good to see them all together again... I just hope that when this is all over... they'll all still be together..."_

* * *

Manic rounded a corner and was about to turn out onto a main street. They were unaware that just a few feet behind them, waiting at a red light, was a certain black BMW.

"Hoooraaay! We're almost there!"

"I'll just be glad to out of this traffic. With how many cars there are today you'd think it was like somebody famous was in town, like maybe-" Mighty began.

At that moment Vector spotted Manic's car pull in front of them and caught a glimpse of blue quills in the back seat.

"-Sonic?"

"Vector? Are you okay?" Mighty asked.

Just then the light turned green for Vector's direction. Rather than taking the right turn to head for the food joint he went straight, following Manic's car.

"Hey! What are you doing! I'm hungry!" Charmy whined.

"I could have sworn I just saw Sonic in that Camaro ahead of us."

"Sonic? Are you sure?" Mighty asked.

"I _had_ to have been him. It looked _just_ like him!"

"There _are_ other blue hedgehogs in this world, Vector," Espio said, wanting nothing more than to get to the food store so Charmy would be quiet.

"I know that, but I just _have_ to make sure."

"Aww man! Now I'm gonna go hungry!"

Despite the little bee's protests, Vector tailed Manic's car through the city traffic. After about twenty minutes of traveling, they arrived at the Station Square Central Station, located right next to a beach-front resort hotel and parking garage. Vector backed off just a little bit as the black car he was following drove down the entrance/exit ramp leading into the hotel's underground parking garage. The croc then brought the car to a stop and parked it into a small area off to the side between the hotel and the train station.

"Why'd ya stop?" Mighty asked.

"We're gonna wait for them to come out. If I pull up right next to them they'll _know _I was following them. It'll make me seem unprofessional to them', ya know?"

"Like _anything_ you do is professional..." Espio grumbled to himself.

"Wha'd ya say, Espio?"

"You're acting like a true professional," the chameleon lied.

"Why thank you. Such compliments always brighten up my day," Vector said proudly.

Espio shut his eyes in disgust at his leader's over-inflated ego.

* * *

Inside the parking garage under the hotel Manic was looking around for a parking space. Being that it was summertime and today the weather was gorgeous the lot was packed with cars. Goods ones.

"Why do I get the feeling that I've got the cheapest car in this whole garage?" Manic said out loud as he looked for a parking place.

"Maybe because this is a five-star beach-front hotel and resort that only rich people can afford to come to?" Sonia snapped.

"Yeah, you'd know all about wealth, little Ms. Spoiled," Manic retorted.

"Yeah? Well at least **_I'm _**not a disgusting sicko who goes crawling around in sewers, farts like a horse, and spits wads of phlegm on the sidewalk!"

"At least I'm not a snooty pain-in-the-ass who always has to buy designer brand products, has to make everything is as clean and dirt-free as possible, and spend hours making every last strand of hair is groomed to perfection."

"Maybe **_I_** need to give you a few good kicks to the nuts to teach you some respect!"

"Maybe I need to show you what it's like to be on the receiving end of a bitch-slap!"

"Maybe you _both _need to take some anger management classes," Sonic interrupted. "And apparently you guys are more concerned about arguing than finding a parking place because we just drove by one."

The quarreling siblings threw each other a look that said "To Be Continued Later." Manic then put his car into reverse and backed into the spot, which he left rather crooked.

"Nice park-park, spike head. Where'd ya learn to park? The Driving Academy for Dorks?" Sonia said.

"At least I _can_ park, miss "I-Can't-Parallel-Park." Manic retorted.

"Do you guys do this on a daily basis?" Sonic asked.

"Yes," they responded in unison while glaring at each other.

"But Manic always starts it!"

"I don't know about that, but what I always do is _win_ them!"

"THAT'S _**IT!**_" Sonia screamed, taking off her gloves and turning her hands into fists. "You got any last words before you die!"

But before Sonia could do anything, Manic opened his door so quick he just about smashed it into the car next to them, then shut it so hard it was a miracle the window didn't shatter.

"What's the matter, coward! Ain't got the balls to fight a girl!"

"CHECK IT **_OUT_**!"

Whatever Manic had spotted finally made Sonia and Sonic get out of the car and look to see what their brother was up to.

"What'd ya find, bro?" Sonic asked.

"You'd better of found something pretty damn spectacular..." Sonia warned.

"I can't believe it... I found one..."

Manic pointed to a silver Mustang that was fitted with all kinds of custom body and performance modifications.

"So what! It's a car! Like, what a big deal!" Sonia exclaimed.

"You don't understand, sis... We need this car. It's off the list."

"You sure, Manic?" Sonic asked.

"Positive. This is the Saleen Mustang that we need. You guys have no idea how much trouble I had trying to find one of these things before."

"Oh... well, I retract my previous statement then. This is a pretty lucky find fer shur." Sonia reluctantly admitted.

"But we can't take this now, Manic. Not only would we miss our train, which will be leaving any minute, but it's broad daylight. There's no way we'd get away with it."

Manic frowned, knowing his brother was right. But he then perked back up as if he'd just thought of a great idea. The green hedgehog took out his cell phone and put it on camera mode. He first took a picture of the car in its entirety, then, after making sure the coast was clear, took a picture of the car's rear license plate. Manic couldn't help but chuckle at the car's license plate, which read "KIK-N-AZZ."

"There's no way we'll lose sight of this car, now. I can use these to keep track of it," Manic commented, retuning to his siblings.

"I just hope nobody saw that," Sonia said.

Next to them Sonic purposely yawned loudly, signaling he was tired of waiting around and wanted to get going. The trio made their way to an elevator that would take them up to the lobby of the hotel where they could pay for their parking spot. Pushing the button for the lobby, Manic looked back out at their lucky find one last time. Once in the lobby Manic paid for 12-hour parking and received a valet ticked to be used later.

"Aw dammit! I forgot to lock up my car!" Manic exclaimed.

"You'd, like, forget your head if it wasn't attached," the female teased.

"I'll take care of it, bro. You guys go on ahead and get us some tickets for the train."

Sonia and Manic proceeded through the sliding glass doors of the hotel out to the street level. No sooner had Sonic's siblings gotten outside when he heard them resume their argument yet again. Sonic couldn't help but laugh as he returned to the elevator and went back down into the parking garage. It only took a minute for Sonic to go back to Manic's car, lock the doors, and activate it's alarm. Yet, as Sonic did this he had this strange feeling inside him. A feeling like he wasn't alone down in this garage. A feeling that he was being watched. Then, in the driver's side rear view mirror Sonic caught a glimpse of something. It was barely visible amongst the darkness and cars, but there appeared to be a silhouette of a dark figure. In a split second Sonic spun around to see for himself who or what was there, but even in that short of time the enigma had vanished. Sonic began frantically running and looking around for the figure, hoping to spot it again, but to no avail. Then Sonic started getting that feeling again, like something was coming up from behind him. He whipped around and found his hunches were right. A black M5 was pulling up behind him, it's window opening.

"Well I'll be damned... if it isn't Sonic the hedgehog!"

"Vector! Is that really you?" Sonic said happily.

"You bet it is! Damn glad to see you around again!," Vector said, shaking Sonic's hand through the window.

"How'd ya know I was here?"

"I saw your brother and sister outside and they told me you were in here. Hold on a second!"

Vector pulled his car into a nearby space. To Sonic's amazement the rest of the members of Team Chaotix emptied out of Vector's car. Right away he saw how they'd all changed. Charmy had grown much larger, though he was still smaller than everybody else, all of whom had grown as well. In particular, Sonic noticed that Mighty, who had always been known for his strength, was now more buff and ripped than ever.

"Mighty! Been working out, I see. It's so great to see you!" Sonic said, shaking the armadillo's hand.

"Right back at ya, Sonic!" Mighty replied, returning the handshake.

Sonic sensed a buzzing sound behind him and spun around, swiping Charmy out of the air in his arms. He then pulled the little bee's helmet and gave him a noogie.

"Ahhhh! No fair! You're too fast! Lemme go!" Charmy yelled as he squirmed, trying to get free.

"They don't call me the fastest thie-ing alive for nothing!" Sonic said back, releasing Charmy.

Sonic felt like he could have a heart attack right then and there for having almost slipped on his nickname. Charmy chuckled as he retrieved his black helmet and placed it back on his head. Espio, unlike his other three colleagues, was more standoffish and reserved in his manners.

"It's been a long time, Sonic. I hope all is well for you these days," Espio said in his normal disciplined manner without offering to shake hands.

"Oh yeah, things are great," Sonic lied, trying to keep his cool. He found himself thinking heavily about the current predicament they were all in after Espio's comment. "Couldn't complain. Nothing but trouble-free thoughts on my mind."

It was always hard to figure out how Espio felt because he showed little to no emotion. Yet, somehow Sonic had a feeling that Espio was studying him, trying to look beyond the face value of his words. Sonic's left foot, the foot whose shoe concealed the all-important car list, tensed uneasily. Sonic was never one for lying, and he was just looking for anyway to get out of the chameleon's terrifyingly powerful stare.

"Oh, by the way Sonic... I wanted you to see this," Vector said.

Vector took off his right glove and revealed a ring on his ring finger. Sonic raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Is that a..."

"Wedding band?... Yes."

"So that means that you..."

"Finally got up the courage to marry to woman of my dreams?... Yes."

"That means that... you married..."

"Vanilla?... Yes."

"ALRIGHT VECTOR! That's **_way_** past cool! Congratulations, my man!"

"Thanks Sonic. Yup, we got married about three years ago. Since then I've been the happiest I've ever been in my whole life. I love Vanilla so much. And even better, little Cream now has the fatherly figure in her life that she went so long without."

"That's really great to hear, Vector."

"My God... I can't believe how much you've changed physically since the last time I saw you, Sonic," Vector commented.

"Yeah... well, I'm still way past cool," Sonic responded.

The blue hedgehog realized this was his chance to capitalize on the opportunity to escape Espio's ongoing scrutiny. Sonic went on to comment on how the Chaotix members had changed. He pointed out how much Charmy had grown, as well as the fact that everybody else had grown as well. To Espio's distaste, Sonic joked how the chameleon's demeanor didn't appear to have changed one bit over the years. Lastly, Sonic commented on how Mighty looked stronger than ever.

"Ha! You think I _look_ strong? You oughta see me in action! I've hurled a two ton boulder over five-hundred feet with one arm!" Mighty said triumphantly.

Sonic noticed that Espio as still focused on him, still studying him for some reason.

"Yeah yeah yeah... I'll bet I'm still stronger than you," Sonic teased.

"Prove it!" Mighty pressed.

"Okay. Come over here."

Mighty approached Sonic who instructed him to make a fist and hold it out in front of himself. Sonic then grabbed onto Mighty's with both hands.

"Okay, when I say go, you're gonna try to pull your fist upwards while I pull downwards. If you can pull your fist up, you win. If I can hold you back and pull your fist down, I win."

"Heh... You're going down in flames, Sonic!"

"We'll see... Three... two... one... GO!"

Mighty began pulling his fist up as Sonic pulled down. The armadillo looked like he was barely doing anything, where as Sonic was already starting to shake as he struggled to hold Mighty back. Still, to Sonic's irritation, Espio still seemed to be studying him. It was time to do something radical, even though it was a bit outside his morals.

"Had enough yet?" Mighty asked smugly.

"Ha!... I'm not... even... breaking a sweat!"

"I'm not even trying right now, Sonic. Want to see what I can _really_ do?"

"Go for it!"

"Okay, you asked for it!"

Just as Mighty poured every ounce of strength into his right arm, Sonic let go. The sudden release of force sent Mighty flying backwards, his fists going over his right shoulder and right into Espio's face. Immediately laughter burst out of everybody in attendance. Charmy was rolling on the ground while Vector and Sonic and to put their hands on their knees to support themselves. Sonia only stood by and rolled her eyes at the immaturity before her.

"That... worked... perfectly!..." Charmy said between fits of laughter.

"Espio! Espio, are you alright!" Mighty said, trying to get the stunned Chameleon's attention.

"Yo quiero Taco Bell..." Espio said in a dizzy and confused voice.

This stupid response only earned more laughter. Even Mighty started laughing at hearing something so silly.

"I guess... Espio was hungry... after all!" Vector barely got out.

In all of this excitement Sonic had lost track of something very important. There was a sudden crackle as a loud speaker from the train station turned on outside and echoed into the garage.

**"****THE TRAIN HEADED FOR THE MYSTIC RUINS WILL BE DEPARTING SOON," **said a female voice through the loudspeaker.

Sonic glanced down at his watch and realized what time it was.

"SHIT! Sorry Vector, but I gotta train to catch!"

"Here! Take this! We'll catch up later!," Vector said, giving Sonic one of his business cards.

"Cool! Nice talkin' with ya guys! Gotta juice!"

Sonic took off for the station. Since their parking space was already paid for he raced up the parking garage's entrance ramp to save time. He then raced towards and up the steps. Just as he reached to open the door Sonic saw something in the reflection of the glass. A dark figure was standing on the docks behind him across the road. Sonic turned around in a flash, but once again by the time he turned around he was too late and could see nothing.

"Dude! Hurry up!" echoed Manic's voice from inside the station.

Though Sonic wished he could figure out what was going on he quickly turned around and ran through the doors at break-neck speed, headed for the steep staircases of the train station. Half-way up the stair Sonic heard the train's brakes hiss, meaning there were only seconds left. He reached the top of the stairs and did a baseball-style leg-first slide into the train, the doors closing just mere inches behind him.

"Damn, dude! What was the hold up?"

"Well, it would have been rude to just run away from them without saying goodbye and what not," Sonic said as he took a seat at the very front of the train, looking out it's front window. "Not only that, but something funny hap-

"Is that Vector's business card?" Sonia asked.

"Huh?... Oh yeah... I'll put it in my shoe... My _other_ one..."

Manic knew what his brother meant by what he was saying. No sense in risking the safety of the car list. Sonic placed the business card underneath the insert of his right shoe and pulled it back onto his foot. Then, just as Sonic relaxed into his seat he happened to glance up. For a split second he saw a silhouette of a dark figure just inside the tunnel that was ahead of them.

"HEY! LOOK!" Sonic said, glancing quickly over at his siblings and then back.

The figure was gone. As the train went into the dark tunnel the three hedgehog's hoped the train's headlights would light up what Sonic saw, but that didn't happen.

"That's the third time I thought I saw..."

"What are you talking about?" Sonia asked.

"I'm not positive on this... but I think somebody is watching me."

"What do you mean?" his sister asked.

"Three times after I left you two I saw... something... or someone... that I think was watching me... Once when I was down in the parking garage, right before I came into the station, and just now."

"Well, I would have said it was Espio since he's the sneaky-type, but he was with his team when they came to see you. We told them you were down there, after all," Sonia suggested.

"And I don't think it was a SWATbot from Robotnik because he said he doesn't do thing like that anymore. Sure, Robotnik ain't trustworthy, but still, I don't think that's it," Manic added.

"I don't know... I'm starting to wonder if I'm just seeing things... Like maybe my conscience is playing games with me or something... But... I'm sure I saw somebody... plus... there's something about all this... something familiar..."

The family of hedgehog's didn't know what else there was to say. Three times today Sonic thought he was being spied on, yet he only caught brief glimpses of the mystery figure. As if this situation was already stressful enough, the hedgehog's now had to wonder if they were in deeper trouble than they thought.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Mighty, Charmy, and a still slightly woozy Espio were eating a fairly nice meal in front of them.

"I can't believe Vector bought us lunch from the hotel's beach-front cafe!" Charmy squealed.

"I hear ya. The prices were pretty up there too," Mighty commented.

Next to them Espio let out a low grunt.

"You alright there Espio?" Mighty asked.

"Aside from my face being swollen, just fine thank you," Espio snapped.

"It's not like I hit you on purpose."

"It should never have happened in the first place!"

"And yelling at me is going to do what good, Espio? I'd really like to know."

Espio only sighed angrily.

"Aw come on, Espio. Cheer up and enjoy some food," Vector said as he arrived at the table.

"What took you so long, Vector? I thought Charmy here was going to eat all the food before you got back."

"Sorry. I was just checking out the Mustang back there."

"You're really like that Mustang, don't you?" Mighty asked.

"Hell yeah. You know how rare that model is. And besides, how many people do you know are lucky enough to own one?"

"Considering the cost and the rarity in comparison with all the people I know... just one person."

"My point exactly. With something that special, wouldn't you want to make sure nothing happened to such a nice car?"

"Of course."

"As would I."

"Acting as a true detective as always," Espio said, his voice full of sarcasm.

"You got that right, Espio."

Espio only shook his head slightly in disbelief that his team leader didn't get that he wasn't serious. As the rest of his team continued eating, Espio was thinking of only one thing.

_"Sonic's up to something... I know him all too well, and he's **not **acting right... I don't know what he cold possibly be doing back in town, but I intend to find out... one way, or another..."_

* * *

Phew!... That was nearly an 8000 word chapter! A new personal record! I just hope it wasn't too long or that it gave you too much to think about. I'd like to point out that this chapter was purposely long because we're in one of the slowest parts of this story. Therefore, rather than having two or three chapters that covered all of this, I combined them all into one. I think it worked out quite well. I hope you feel the same.

Speaking of which, I sure gave you a lot to think about, eh? Such things like what's gonna happen when everybody else meets up with Sonic, Manic's relationship with Amy, the significance of the Mustang in the garage, Espio's intentions, Vector's new life, and most of all, the mystery figure.

Hope this chapter satisfied your cravings for this story. I'm gonna try my best to stay on top of updates for ya. See ya next time!


	7. Building a Team

**Author's Notes:**

Okay, I got news for all my readers. This chapter you are about to read is officially the longest chapter I've ever written. Not including author's notes, the chapter is just a little over 10,000 words, a new record for myself. I would also like to say that while nothing necessarily big is going to happen in this chapter, there's still going to be a lot of events. The reason it's so long is because all the events in this chapter were originally going to be about three of four separate chapters. However, I did not want to drag out the slow part of the story that long, so I consolidated all the ideas into this one chapter.

That said, I also want to make something clear. In case nobody has caught onto this yet, I am basically combining characters and events from all the Sonic universes into one, that's why characters who normally wouldn't know each other or know of certain events know of them now. I just wanted to make that distinction clear.

Lastly, for those of you who have played some of the Sonic video games, I wanted to point out that I'm using some actual locations from those games, mainly Sonic Adventure 1 and 2. Such things as the first train station, the parking garage, and the scene outside the burger bar, are all from the video games I mentioned above.

* * *

**Chapter 7** - Building a Team

"Like... oh... my... _God_..."

The time was about 11:30 A.M. as the train the family of hedgehog's had boarded was nearing the edge of town. Since nobody else had gotten on the train so far, Sonia finally got a chance to look over the car list. However, they all kept alert when doing so not only in case somebody got on the train, but also in case of the unconfirmed presence of a spy.

"I never thought the list would look like this..."

"Heh... that's what I said when I saw it..." the blue brother stated in response to his sister's comment.

"I mean, I expected it would have some pretty fancy stuff on it, but this is like... redonkulous! Just having one of these cars would keep me happy for, like, a month! But a hundred... A hundred! Damn!"

"Shhhhhhhhhhh! Keep your voice down, sis! This isn't exactly something we want the whole world to know!" Manic warned.

"Oh, as if _you_ have any room to talk, Mr. Noise Maker!"

"Don't get on me about me playing my drums loud! Drums aren't a quiet instrument and you know it!"

"I was referring to your habit to make noise when you and Amy... you know..."

"Wait a second... are you saying that Manic over here... ain't a virgin no more?"

Sonia nodded, starting a chain of laughter from Sonic. Manic shut his eyes and growled quietly. They were now pulling into the last station inside the city before they would start heading out into the suburbs and eventually. Manic only opened his eyes for a second to see which station they were at, but when he did, a figure standing at the station caught his eye.

"Hey! HEY! Sonic, look! Look who it is!"

Sonic, thinking it was the unknown spy, regained his composure almost instantly and stood up to see who it was.

"Oh _please! _Manic's just saying that to distract you from the fact that he and Amy have had-"

"I _don't_ believe it..." Sonic said incredulously.

Sonic, to Sonia's confusion, turned and had a grin as wide as the grand canyon on his face.

"It's Uncle Chuck!"

Just as the train was stopping, Sonic suddenly darted for the back of the train car and hid down in the seats, out of sight. The doors opened up and Sonia saw a familiar being waiting against the far wall of the station. It was a light blue male hedgehog with reddish-brown shoes that had two yellow stripes running across them. He looked to be a few inches shorter than the average adult hedgehog because of his age. The hedgehog also had thick gray eyebrows and an even thicker gray mustache, both of which further suggested he was of age. As Chuck walked toward the train he noticed Manic and Sonia inside. He smiled and waved as he approached. Just as he was stepping through the doorway, however, the doors closed unexpectedly, catching the poor hedgehog by his tail.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooowwwww!" Chuck yelped as he struggled to get free.

Sonia assisted her uncle by using her gift of strength and pried the doors open just enough to Chuck to get free. Sonic then watched as his uncle exchanged greetings with his brother and sister. Luckily, Chuck took a seat with his back facing Sonic, allowing him to sneak up behind him unnoticed. After allowing the other three hedgehog's a few minutes of casual conversation, Sonic decided the next chance he got he was going to reveal his presence.

"Oh, by the way, did you two that in addition to the trains starting late the speeds have been reduced by half for the entire line?"

"What! When did they say that?" Manic asked.

"It's been that way the whole time. I heard a report saying all trains would be traveling at lower speeds while the whole line is monitored for problems. The said that travel times will be about double what they normally are."

"Great... That means rather than this trip taking an hour and a half, it's gonna take three," Manic said, laying his head back in disbelief.

"Ugh!... three hours on this dingy, dirty, noisy train!" Sonia whined.

"I wonder what Sonic would have to say about this...," Chuck started saying, hi thoughts wondering off. "He'd probably say that is was time to... Oh geez... I'm having a senior moment right now! It was something time... Fly time?... Go time?... Speed time?... Jet time?... Run time?... Race time?..."

"Juice time?" Sonic said behind his uncle.

"Yeah! That's it! Juice time! That's what Sonic would say if here were..."

A reality began to dawn on the elder hedgehog, one that he thought couldn't possibly be true. But the looks of the faces of the niece and nephew in front of him told him otherwise. Chuck turned around and found himself looking into the face of a grown-up Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Long time, no see, Unc.," Sonic said coolly with his signature smirk.

The old hedgehog's eyes were open wide with amazement. It had been so long since he'd last seen Sonic and now, six years later, is was almost too much to take as Chuck was seeing for the first time how much his nephew had grown. Tears began to well up in Chuck's eyes as he and Sonic stood up and joined in a warm embrace.

"It's about damn time you came to see me, Sonic..." Chuck said, his voice a little teary.

"I know... It's been too long."

"I just turned sixty not too long ago, Sonic... When were you planning on coming back? My retirement?"

"I'm sorry, Unc."

Chuck lovingly patted his nephew's back, letting him know it was okay.

"It doesn't matter, Sonic. The important thing is you're here now."

For about the next hour and a half the two of them caught up on times. But at about one o'clock, Chuck asked the question Sonic had been fearing.

"So how far are you three going, anyway?"

A quick glance between the brothers told them they should tell the truth.

"We're going to Tails' place," Sonic said.

"Oh my! Tails is going to be ecstatic when he sees you! He's probably gonna want to show you every invention he's made over the years and..."

Chuck knew Sonic just as well as his brother and sister did. Just by Sonic's sudden mood change told Chuck something was wrong. For the next half an hour the three of them updated their uncle on the current situation, told him all the stipulations surrounding it, and showed him the list. At least, they told him almost everything.

"So now you're looking to recruit as many volunteers for this... task..."

The three of them nodded.

"As delighted as I was to see you, Sonic... somehow I knew that something wasn't right... And to think, of all people... it's that scumbag Robotnik that's behind all of this... Can't that... _bastard_... just go crawl under some rock and never return?... I just can't see how all of this could get any worse..."

As soon as he said it, the look in Sonic's eyes told him it was going to get worse.

"Uncle Chuck... I hate to say it... but... Robotnik rebuilt... _it_..."

Chuck already knew what the "it" was. The color drained from the elder's face as his worse dream had now come true.

"The Roboticizer... oh God... not the Roboticizer..."

"And it's worse than ever. Robotnik stuck me inside that thing to make Sonic take the job. Now it not only turns ya into a hunk of metal, it also inflicts as much pain as possible."

Chuck looked like he'd throw up for a minute, but then a look of determination came upon his face.

"Consider me on the team. _Don't_ give me that look! **DON'T!** I swore the day that I personally destroyed that infernal machine that I'd make sure nobody ever built it again. That still holds true. After all the trouble I went through to rebuild an effect De-Roboticizer and return everybody that had gone through that living hell to normal I'll be **_damned_** if I'm going to sit on my ass and not do anything about it!"

The rest of the trip was fairly silent once the three of them realized they pulled another family member into this mess. Finally at about two o'clock they arrived at the last train station in the Mystic Ruins, an area marked my rain-forest and temple ruins of an ancient civilization. Standing on the elevated platform Sonic looked over to where Tails' dwelling had always been. There was only one difference.

"Woah! Tails sure built himself quite a workshop, huh?"

Tails' workshop, as Sonic remembered it, was a small house with a garage attached to it. Now, however, there was a much larger and much more luxurious house with a huge add-on to it that extended onto a large space next to house. This was obviously the new workshop and hanger all in one.

"Yeah, Tails sure has been busy since you last aw him, Sonic. And what you see here doesn't include all of his underground storage areas and workshops. Believe it or not, underneath all that land is Tails' space cruiser, the Blue Typhoon."

Sonic remember the Blue Typhoon all too well. Tails had summoned its use when the war with Robotnik became inter-twined with the Metarex wars and all that came with it. For a moment Sonic reflected on that fateful night when Tails had no choice but to pull the trigger of the shot that defeated the enemy at the cost of the life of the one Tails loved. Though Tails had moved on from the incident somewhat the last time Sonic saw him, he still wasn't quite right. Sonic could only hope when they met face to face after all this time that things were still cool between them.

"I'm gonna give Tails a call and see how he's doing," Manic said.

Manic dialed a number on his phone and waited for an answer.

"Sup Tails, it's Manic... We just got here... The Mystic Ruins... Heh, you can thank the Station Square Rail System for that... Well that's the first bit of good news today... Okay, see you then... Later..."

Manic ended the call and put his phone in his small black fanny pack at his side.

"Tails is on his way here. Everything's cool, so he should be here by about three."

The quartet of hedgehog's made their way down the staircase from the station. At the bottom, Sonic noticed a familiar path into the mountains.

"Hey guys... I just had a thought..."

"What's up, dude?"

"Well... I was thinking, since Tails isn't gonna be here for another hour... I might go pay Knuckles and Julie-Su a visit."

Because of Knuckles duties to guard the Master Emerald, the source or power that controlled all seven chaos emeralds, Sonic didn't see much of Knuckles, even during the war. And the last Sonic had heard, Knuckles had developed feelings for another echidna, Julie-Su.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe while you're there you can find out if they want to lend a hand."

"I don't think that's gonna happen," Chuck stated.

"Oh yeah, the Master Emerald. Right. Knuckles never leaves that thing's side."

"Not only that Sonic, but... a month ago... Knuckles father, Locke... passed away..."

"What!" Sonic said in astonishment.

"I know... I only found out about it because Julie-Su came to visit me right after his funeral. She needed some work done on some of her cybernetic parts and she was too upset to do it herself."

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

"Apparently it was cancer of some sort. Julie-Su didn't go into much detail since she was so upset. But she did manage to tell me that Knuckles was hit really hard by this. I'm surprised you didn't tell your brother about this, Manic."

"Well, considering everything is already in a shit pit, I figured it was better not telling him something that bad."

"...Do you think I should even bother going up there to visit them, Uncle Chuck?"

"I think visiting them would be OK. Maybe seeing you will bring up Knuckles' spirits. But I'm going to say it wouldn't be wise to bring up our situation. It might be too much for him."

"Well... I'll see how things go. If they see to be alright, I might bring it up. But if they're as bad as you say they are, I'll keep it on the D.L."

"Sounds like a plan, dude. We'll wait at Tails' place while you go on your way."

"Alright then. I'll see ya in an hour. Now... it's juice time!"

With a great gust of wind, Sonic raced off at nearly the speed of sound. Initially, Sonic had planned to go straight to where Knuckles' home, the floating island, was located. But having been trapped on a slow train for nearly three hour, Sonic's legs were begging to be stretched. Therefore, Sonic spent close to fifteen minutes darting through the canyons and parts of rain forest near the ruins. At one point Sonic came to a brief stop when he came upon a tree that looked incredibly out of place. While all th trees around had green leaves, this one had pink. There was something familiar about the tree, but since Sonic wanted to run rather than think, he went right back to running, this time towards the island Knuckles was on. When he arrived there he found an island levitating high in the sky, and that was a problem. Sonic sure couldn't fly up and he sure as hell wasn't about to start yelling if somebody was there. Just as he thought he might try making a sonic boom to get attention, Sonic's ears perked up to a barely-audible sound a few feet behind him. Due to many years of fighting experience, Sonic's instinct told him that danger was immanent. In a split-second decision, Sonic did a back-flip jump into the air just as a pink blur shot underneath him, missing by mere inches. But just as Sonic's feet touched the ground a handful of dirt hit his face and got into his eyes, blinding him. With his eyes shut, Sonic felt somebody tackle him to the ground and pin him there. Then, a hand clamped hard onto his throat, making it very hard to breath.

"Who the hell are you!" demanded a very tough sounding female voice.

Though it stung terribly to do so, Sonic opened his reddened eyes and saw whom his attacker was. A pink female echidna with violet eyes.

"The fastest thing alive..." Sonic said, managing a smile despite being chocked.

"...Sonic?..." the echidna asked, loosening her grip.

"I also go by that," the hedgehog said coolly.

Julie-Su smiled and helped Sonic to his feet.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I didn't even recognize you! It's so _good_ to see you!" Julie exclaimed, giving Sonic a spine-breaking hug.

"Same... here... Julie-Su," Sonic gasped out, catching his breath.

Julie-Su giggled at Sonic's response as she released him. For the first time Sonic got a good look at Julie. Julie has always been on the tall side, but now she'd grown even more. She probably has a good inch or two over Sonic. Also, her dreadlocks which used to reach to about the middle of her back were now just about hip-length. In addition, Julie had let her large tuft of pink hair on her head grow in longer and thicker. But despite these changes, there were still many things the same. She still had purple highlights on the tips of her hair, still had metal decorations attached to her dreadlocks, and still wore her favorite half-black half-green vest, gold link belt, and green boots. And naturally, both her mechanical arms, as well as her robotic front-most left dreadlock, were kept in top-notch shape.

"Well look at you, Sonic. All grown up now. Damn."

"Yeah, well, what can ya do. Tell me something, you planning on letting your dreadlocks grow down to your feet?"

"Hahaha... I like the way they look. And so does Knuckles..."

Julie's mood seemed to drop a little at mentioning Knuckles' name.

"Sonic, there's something I have to tell you about Knuckles..."

"His father. I heard from my Uncle Chuck. I"m sorry for the loss..."

"I figured Chuck would tell you that. But... I'm guessing you want to go see Knuckles. I just want to warn that... he's not the same."

"How so?"

"It's not that he's gone all angst and emo or anything like that, he's just... he's just lost that.. determination he always had."

"Like he's gone from a glass half-full to a glass half-empty kind of personality."

"Pretty much."

At this point Sonic was fairly certain that he wasn't going to bring up asking if Knuckles wanted to join the team, but he still wanted to visit his friend to see if he could cheer him up.

"You think seeing me would cheer him up at all?"

"I think a this point anything would help him. Come on."

Julie-Su walked over to large boulder that was sitting at the edge of a cliff underneath the floating island. She then pushed a specific part of the rock and to Sonic's amazement, a portion of the boulder opened up revealing a numbered keypad. Julie typed in a code and a beep came out of the keypad. As the secret panel shut, another panel on the ground opened up, revealing what looked like a large red spring bumper.

"Wow! I haven't seen those in ages," Sonic said.

"You still know how to handle it, then?" Julie asked.

"Hell yeah! Watch this!"

Sonic jumped up into the air and slammed down on the bumper. The device then propelled Sonic up at a very high rate of speed and he met with several other springs on floating spring pads that were all part of the system Julie had activated. After a few more springs he landed perfectly on the floating island. Julie landed a second or two later.

"Man! That was _way_ past cool! I forgot how much fun they are!"

Julie only chuckled, then looked to the Master Emerald shrine in front of her. Sonic looked too and was met with a bit of a surprise. In addition to the giant green Master Emerald being in the center of the shrine, on seven pillars around the shrine were all seven chaos emeralds.

"_Man... How often do you see all seven chaos emeralds together and they're **not** being used for evil purposes?_" Sonic thought to himself.

Julie began approaching the shrine, Sonic close behind her. When they got to the base of the steps, they stopped.

"Knuckles!_ Knuckles!_ Are you there?..." Julie called.

For a moment, it seemed like nobody would answer.

"…..Of course I'm here… Why wouldn't I be?..." said a rather miserable voice.

Sonic and Julie looked at each other real quick, each knowing that this might not go so well.

"Knuckles, I know you're feeling down but I brought somebody to see you."

"Tell whoever it is to piss off."

Sonic decided to take a chance and speak up. "That sure is a cruel thing to say to somebody you haven't seen in six years."

There was a momentary silence, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. The face of a red echinda with purple appeared a the top of the staircase, looking down upon them. Without a word, Knuckles slowly walked down the staircase and came face-to-face with Sonic. Knuckles was now just about as tall as Julie-Su was and his dreadlocks had grown by a few inches, though not nearly as long as Julie's. Other than that, Knuckles was mostly the same. He still had his spiked boxing gloves, his red and yellow sneakers with bolt-stud latches, green socks, and his white crescent birthmark on his upper chest. Though the one thing that was indeed different was Knuckles' demeanor. Knuckles used to carry himself in a strong, fierce way. Now, he seemed weak and discouraged, especially in his eyes.

"...Sonic..."

"That's the name they gave me."

In the most unexpected move ever, Knuckles loosely wrapped his arms around Sonic and gave him somewhat of a brotherly hug.

"I'm sure by now you've heard what happened to my father."

"Yeah... I'm sorry for the loss, Knux."

"Nobody is more sorry than I..." the echidna said, letting go of Sonic.

"I hate to ask but... are you alright, Knux?"

"Far from it... Of course I knew that the day would come when I had to say goodbye to my father... but I never thought it would come so soon..."

Sonic could see what Julie had been talking about. Knuckles really wasn't himself anymore. The three of them went to the top of the shrine and talked for about fifteen minutes.

"I really wish there's something I cold do for you, Knuckles. I've never _ever_ seen you like this," Sonic said.

"There is something you could do for me."

"What is it?"

"Talk about something else than this. Surely there must be some special reason you're back all of a sudden after six years."

Sonic felt very uncomfortable about bringing up the current situation, but he decided to take a roll of the dice.

"Actually.. there is a reason I'm back... A _big_ reason..."

Both echidnas seemed intrigued by Sonic's words.

"...This isn't good is it, Sonic?..." Knuckles asked, knowing the answer already.

Once again, Sonic went through the whole story and showed the list of cars in about a half hour. When he finished, Julie-Su was definitely in shock. More amazingly, Knuckles seemed to have shaken his dark mood for the time being.

"I don't believe it... I _can't_ believe it... Robotnik back... a new roboticizer... Antoine being forced to work this job..." Julie siad in disbelief.

"I can't believe that bastard..." Knuckles said angrily.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing this up. With what has happened with you two recently , I didn't know if you would be too happy if I told you about this."

"Actually I'm glad you did. It's given me something else to think about," Knuckles stated.

"Sonic, you said that you're looking for more people to join you on this?" Julie asked.

"Yes, but _only_ if they really want to. We are by no means forcing anybody to join us or to stay with us on this."

Julie thought for a second, then looked to Knuckles.

"Knuckles... what do you think we should do?"

The red echidna thought very had about this before he answered.

"I feel that we do owe Sonic this favor."

"I agree," Julie said.

"_However_... I can't leave the Master Emerald unguarded, and I don't wish to remove it from the island and have the land fall into the ocean again."

"So... are you saying you won't help?" Julie asked.

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I _can't _help _unless _we can find a way to guard the Master Emerald effectively. And I do mean _effectively_."

"He's right Sonic. He can't leave the Mastre Emerald. But I can. So, Knuckles, with your permission, I'd like to volunteer."

"You know you have my support regardless of what you choose."

"Julie, as I've asked everybody else whose volunteered... _are you sure_?"

"A hundred percent."

At that moment, the sound of a jet engine began to grow louder and louder. Then, a large yellowish-colored jet screamed over the island, headed for the shore.

"That must be Tails. We're going to meet up with them and get all caught up."

"You should get going, then. I'll walk you two out," Knuckles said, getting to his feet.

The three of them walked to the edge of the island. Once again there was a boulder disguised as a keypad that activated a bumper to get back down to the ground.

"I hope everything goes good with the meeting," Knuckles stated in general.

"I'll get back as soon as I can about everything I learn as soon as I can," Julie said, placing her hands on Knuckles' shoulders.

Knuckles and Julie exchanged a quick kiss, then Knuckles looked to Sonic.

"Sonic... if for some reason I don't get to come along with you on this... job... I hope everything works out for you and everybody else."

"Thanks, bud... oh, and Knuckles?"

"Yeah?"

"...Keep your chin up, big guy."

Knuckles managed a slight smile, his first in a while. With that, Sonic and Julie used the bumper to leave the island.

* * *

Back at Tails' place, Manic had come outside the hangar after receiving a radio transmission from Tails that they were about to land. Manic spotted a small glint on the horizon that was approaching quickly. Within a very short period of time Manic could hear the engines of Tails' jet, the X-Torando, as it's engines powered down to come in for a landing. The jet's tires chirped as Tails touched down in a textbook landing, then taxied down the runway and pulled into the open hangar, it's engines making an ear-piercing squeal. Finally, the engines were shut off and the jet's two canopies opened up. From the rear canopy Ray climbed down the jet's built-in ladder system while Silver lazily levitated down to the ground. Rotor climbed down from the front canopy and finally, after doing some work in the front seat, Tails propellered his way down.

"Sup dudes!"

There was a round of handshakes and high-fives as Manic reunited with his friends.

"Sorry for being late, but it's like I said on the phone, it was an accident," Tails said.

"Don't worry bout it, dude. It actually worked out good though. I've used this extra time to do some things that might help us."

"Good. I'd like to talk now, but I have to go... get her," Tails said hesitantly.

Tails ran over to one of his oldest but no less reliable planes, the Tornado, a blue and yellow bi-plane. In no time at all Tails had it's prop engine started and he taxied out onto the runway and throttled up. The biplane sped down the runway and took off into the sky.

"He sure seemed protective, didn't he?" Rotor asked.

"Well... considering how she means to him, I'm not surprised," Manic said.

"How are you, Manic? What's happened since you stayed behind?" Ray asked.

"We'll talk about that in a bit. I want to wait until Tails gets back."

"Has s-something b-bad happened?" Ray asked, getting scared a little.

"Let's just say a lot has happened, both good and bad."

"Have you at least done anything that's going to help us now that we're so far behind?" Silver asked.

"I have, actually. I've recruited a few additional people to help us."

"Really? Who?" Rotor asked.

"Right now I've confirmed my sister and Uncle Chuck."

"Wow! That's awesome!... Well, in a way..." Ray said.

"I can't believe they actually agreed that easily." Rotor said.

"Well... I had some help."

"What kind of help?" Silver asked.

"From a very influential person in our lives... Come on, let's go wait inside."

The three of them were confused as to what Manic could be hinting at, but decided it would be better to figure it out inside.

* * *

Julie was screaming with delight. Since it would take forever to get back at normal walking speed, Sonic had scooped Julie up into his arms and was now running at high speed back to Tails' house.

"Having fun, Julie?" Sonic asked.

"Hell yeah! Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to run this fast!"

They were just about to the edge of the canyons when Sonic stopped and looked to the sky. Up above he saw Tails' biplane fly over, headed towards the rain forest. He watched it as it slowed down and somehow landed in the forest.

"That's Tails... I wonder where he's going." Sonic said. "_Funny... that's right around where I saw that weird tree..._"

"I'm sure he won't be gone long. Come on, let's get back so we don't keep the others waiting."

Sonic agreed. Julie held on tight and they sped all the way back to Tails' house. Once they got close Sonic stopped running and they snuck up quietly to the house. Peering into one of the house's windows, Sonic found the whole in one room with a few of them playing on Tails' "Rockband" video game. Quite fittingly, the song they were playing along to was "Highway Star" by Deep Purple. Rotor was on bass, Ray was on guitar, and Manic, naturally, was on drums. To Sonic's surprise, Silver had the game's microphone and was singing. From outside, however, it was hard to make out whether Silver was doing good or bad.

"Let's sneak inside. I just gotta hear this!" Sonic said like a little kid.

The two of them found the back door unlocked and quietly made their way to the room where everybody was. Luckily, nobody heard or saw them come in, so they were able to watch the rest of the game. To Sonic's amazement, Silver's singing wasn't really that bad. He struggled on some of the notes that needed to be yelled, but still, it wasn't that bad of an attempt.

"Julie... could you wait aside for just a sec?... I want to surprise them..." Sonic whispered.

"No sweat..."

When they finally finished they got a pretty good overall score, much to the pleasure of those who'd been playing the game. Manic, of course, got a perfect score on drums, and naturally, he was going to brag about it.

"What's the matter, guys? My mad drumming skills make you depressed and not able to get a perfect score?"

"Shut up, Manic. Not all of us happen to be musicians like you," Silver retorted.

"Man... my arm is killing me from that one," Rotor said, rubbing his right arm.

"Yeah, mine too," Ray said.

"And my throat is killing me," Silver added.

"Is that because you're too insecure to sing like that?" Manic taunted.

"If think my singing is so bad, how come you never get up and sing? Huh!"

"Because Manic can't sing for shit," Sonic answered.

Everybody turned and faced the unknown voice. To those who'd already seen Sonic, they were glad to see him back. Ray, Rotor, and Silver, on the other hand, were shocked. The triplet looked to Manic.

"Yeah, that's who I was talking about..." he said in response to heir faces.

Sonic walked into the room to greet his three old friends.

"S-S-Sonic! It's so great to see you!" Ray squealed.

Aside from being taller, Ray hadn't changed much since Sonic last saw him. He still had the same clothes and was still the shortest in the group, though he was definitely taller than when he'd seen Charmy earlier.

"Good to see you too, stutters," Sonic teased.

Ray rolled his eyes at the joke and laughed it off.

"SONIC! My man, what is up!" Rotor shouted, giving Sonic a high-five.

Rotor hadn't really changed too much either. He was taller, of course, but otherwise much the same. He still had is tool belt on him and his dark brown bomber jacket. The most notable difference were a pair of rectangular glasses he was wearing.

"Sup four eyes?" Sonic joked.

"Yeah, Yeah, yeah... I know. Could be worse though. I could be fat and need glasses. _Oh_, I already am."

"Very true, very true..." Sonic said, after laughing very loudly.

Lastly, Silver stepped forward. So far, Silver was the only one who showed any drastic changes in appearance. Just like everybody else, he was taller than before, but he was about an inch or two shorter, since he was younger than Sonic. His two back quills, as well as his five front quills on his forehead, were all a bit longer. Most notably was Silver's patch of white chest hair. The patch had always been pudgy to begin with, but he'd let it grow in so much that now it extended out and over the upper part of his arms and right up to his throat.

"Been a long time, Sonic," Silver said.

"That is has, pothead."

Silver growled a little at his old nickname. Back during the war the running joke Sonic and the others had had was that Silver's front quills looked like a cannabis plant, AKA the marijuana plant, AKA "Pot," hence the name "pothead."

"You're never going to let that name go, are you?" Silver asked irritatedly.

"Nope. And while we're on you, what the hell is up with you're chest hair, bud? I mean, I let mine grow a little, but **damn**!"

"Blaze happens to like it that way, and that's all I care about."

"Blaze? You and her still together after all this time?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Nothing. Just nice to hear that you and her are still together. A girl like that is hard to find."

"AHEM! Speaking of girls!" Julie snapped from outside the room.

"Dude... was that who I think I was?" Manic asked.

Sonic peeked around the entrance to the room and motioned Julie to come in.

"Guys, Julie-Su is on board."

There was a few minutes of hellos and thanks for helping statements exchanged between everybody. But then the inevitable question was asked.

"So how's Knuckles doing?" Rotor asked.

Julie had no choice but to tell them of their tragic loss a month ago. Condolences were exchanged in response.

"Does that mean there's no chance of Knuckles joining us?" Sonia asked.

"Actually, he seemed interested. He said it would help him take his mind off of his current woes. There's just one problem..." Sonic started.

"The Master Emerald," everybody said in unison.

"You got it. He said if we can find a sufficient guard for it, then he'd come."

"And knowing Knuckles, putting up some sort of mechanical or technological guard won't be enough. He's going to want a living guard for th job."

"Well, we'll have to think about that one and see if we can think of anything, Manic said."

"Hey guys... I only just noticed this, but where's Tails?"

Everybody looked at Sonic, their faces telling him they knew, yet nobody answered.

"Is there something I don't know about?"

"Well dude, let me put it to you like this. I didn't tell the guys you were here to surprise them, so I'm not going to tell you and let Tails surprise you."

"Hmph... a surprise, eh? This should be interesting. When do think he'll be back?"

"Tails to home base, this is the Tornado, come in?"

A radio on the far side of the room was the source of the voice. Manic decided to answer to preserve the secret of Sonic's presence.

"Home base, this is Manic, this is Manic. What's up, Tails?"

"I've completed my task. I'm lining up for my final approach for landing."

"Copy that, Tails. See ya soon. We're all here."

"Roger that. Tails out."

Knowing that there was only a few minutes to spare, Manic had to think of some cool way to surprise Tails.

"Dude, I got an idea!"

Manic picked up the guitar for the Rockband game and handed it to Sonic.

"Sonic, do the song "**Riding on the Wind**" by Judas Priest on expert."

"Expert? Ha! I'm well beyond expert! Let's do this!"

As proof for Tails afterwards, Manic took out his cell phone and put it on video mode. Sonic started the game on the son Sonic suggested and set it on the hardest level. Sonic noticed the song didn't have any score yet.

"Is this a new song or something?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, Tails just downloaded it or the game. He always likes to be the first to get five gold start for each song."

"Well, I guess I'm gonna beat him to that on this song."

Sure enough, a few minutes later Sonic had achieved 100 percent notes hit and five gold stars, the highest possible score that could be achieved.

"**_Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn__!_**..." Manic said, as he and all the others laughed in amazement at his brother's accomplishment.

"You are joking, right bro? That was nothing. I coulda done that a hundred times faster."

"I know, but it took Tails months to do what you just did with "Highway Star." He is gonna flip out when he sees this!"

Just then, the front door to the house opened. In a flash, Sonic went and hid behind a couch in the room while everbody else acted like Manic had just gotten the score on the game.

"Alright, alright, what's all the hub-bub?" Tails asked as he came into the room.

The crowd stepped back and revealed Manic striking a victory pose with Sonic's results screen behind him. Tails only scoffed.

"Yeah, sure Manic," Tails said in doubt about the score.

"No dude, this isn't faked! It's a real score!"

"Uh-huh... show me some proof!"

"Okay, let me show you the video that was taken!"

Manic replayed the video on his phone and let Tails listen to it. He did not, however, let him see it.

"Alright, that's it!," Tails said, Manic's phone over so he could see it. "There's only one person I know who could do that other than me, and that's-"

Tails just about dropped the phone when he saw a blue hedgehog on the small screen. The fox looked back up in disbelief at Manic, who then pointed off to the side. When Tails looked back, he saw Sonic leaning against the couch he'd hidden behind. Tails was speechless as he fixed his gaze upon the hedgehog before him. Slowly Tails walked over to Sonic, never breaking eye contact. When last Sonic had seen Tails he was only ten years old and was amazed at how much he had changed since then. Back then, Tails was half his own height but now was a half-foot taller than him. His two tails, which were always long to begin with, where now probably about half as long as his whole body. His white chest fur was now even more pudgy than ever, as was his tail fur. But perhaps most notable was the hair on Tails' head. His bangs, which at one time were short and thin, had now grown in thicker and longer and were parted to either side of his face. To top it all off, for whatever reason, Tails had adopted a mullet hairstyle, the tips of which touched his back.

"...Sonic?..." Tails said quietly.

"That's right, little bro... I'm back."

For a moment, Tails looked like he was going to cry as he embraced Sonic in a brotherly hug. Then, unexpectedly, Tails delivered a sturdy punch to Sonic's gut.

"You son-of-a-bitch! You beat me to the perfect score!"

"Ow... Since when have you been able to cause internal bleeding with one punch?" Sonic joked.

"Heh... I grew big and strong. That's what happens when you become a man."

"In more than one way... _right_?" Sonic asked with a smirk and a wink.

"You got that right," Tails said, then laughed with Sonic.

"Oh, and Tails, what's this stuff right here?" Sonic said, flicking at Tails' bangs and mullet.

"Uh... they call that hair," Sonic."

"No shit, Tails. Seriously, what's up with the punk-rocker look?"

"Eh... what can I say? My tastes changed."

"I have a feeling you might have spent a little too much time around _brother_," Sonic said, throwing Manic a glance.

"Yeah, maybe I might have picked up on one or two of Manic's habits, but at least there's one thing he learned from me."

"And what's that?"

"Heh... how to not be a shitty mechanic."

"Blow me, Tails," Manic said as an insult.

"Sorry, Manic. I'm not interested in doing so. But I'm sure Amy would gladly do that. Hell, maybe she'd do us both."

All the guys in the room burst into laughter at Tails' great comeback. Manic could only flip Tails off in response.

"Okay, what's so funny in here? Did somebody say a rude joke?" said an unseen female voice.

Sonic's blood ran cold when he heard that voice. It was eerily familiar, even though he hadn't heard it in years. To be exact, he hadn't heard that voice even before he left for six years. A sudden gasp of shock finally made Sonic turn around. What he saw actually made his quills stand up.

"...Cosmo?..." Sonic barely said.

It was impossible. No, it wasn't. She was really there. It could not be denied. There, standing before Sonic, was the plant-like alien girl that had once sacrificed her life in a battle in another war long ago. The best memory Sonic had of Cosmo was of her in her youth, but the form she was in was one Sonic had seen only once for a brief period of time. She was now in her grown-up form. She looked to be, quite astoundingly, just about Tails' height. The roses on her head were in full bloom and perfect in every way. He leafy hair in the front had grown to shoulder length and in the back reached far down her back. She also was wearing a dress just like the one she had back when Sonic had last seen her alive. In fact, the only real difference was the lack of the red stone on her dress, which had been replaced by the crystal flower she'd had so long ago.

"Sonic?... Sonic, is that really you?" Cosmo said in her angelic voice, approaching Sonic.

Sonic was frozen in disbelief. Even more so, he was held in a trance by Cosmo's blue eyes. It was like he was looking into a whole galaxy in them.

"Cosmo... you're... you're alive!..."

"Yes... Yes I am..."

"How... How is it possible?"

"Part of why is thanks to you, Sonic," Tails said.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, remember how we all thought that "chaos regenerate" failed to save her?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, turns out we were wrong. You did save her. That seed you got back was how she was saved."

"But... when I last left, that seed was only a small sprout. How... how did it bring her back?"

"It's a long story, Sonic... But just know that I figured out how to bring her back, and that's all that matters. She's even become able to change between this form and tree form. That's why I went back to the rain forest. I told her to hide out there in tree form until. I got back for safety sakes."

"I thought sensed your presence when you came by, Sonic. I was about to try and communicate with you some how, but since I wasn't sure if it was you, I stayed quiet."

"So that would explain why I spotted a pink-leaved tree in the middle of a rain forest... I knew it seemed familiar..." Sonic said out loud to himself.

Sonic looked back to Cosmo and quite honestly felt like he could cry he was so happy.

"Sonic... it's because of your past quick actions that inevitably led to Tails bringing me back. Ever since I've come back to this form I've been grateful for each and every day. And although I could never truly repay you for what you did for me, I at least want to give you something to show my gratitude."

Cosmo looked to Tails, almost as if asking for permission of something. Tails nodded. The next thing Sonic knew Cosmo's hands had cupped his face and she planted a light kiss on his lips.

"Thank you Sonic... for giving me a second chance at life..."

Sonic couldn't hold it back anymore. A single stray tears rolled down each cheek.

"And while we're on the topic of second chances at life, that's one thing I'm not going to have unless we sit down and figure out some things about getting this car job done."

"I agree," Tails said, coming to Cosmo's side and putting an arm around her.

"Sounds good to me. Just one thing, Manic," Sonic started.

"Sup dude?"

"You mind telling them everything? I've had to repeat the story enough today."

"That's cool. How bout I tell everything up to what you and Julie have to say?"

"Alright. You ready Julie?"

"Yup."

"Okay. Let's get this underway."

Everybody pulled the couches and chairs in the room closer together to form somewhat of a circle. Naturally, Tails sat next to Cosmo. He even was brazen enough to wrap both of his tails around her and pull her closer. Finally, Sonic took his seat. For the first time that day Sonic finally felt like they were going to get somewhere. He only wished that this reunion was occurring under better conditions.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Station Square, Vector and his team of detectives were hard at work sifting through, organizing, and studying all the evidence and photographs from the crime scene two nights ago.

"Ugh... my neck hurts from looking at all this evidence!" Mighty said, stretching.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get cauliflower-ass from having sat in this chair for so long," Vector added.

"I'M BORED!" yelled a certain little bumble bee.

"Well, I for one say that we've earned ourselves a break."

"Vector... I must protest against that. It would be better if we kept working," Espio said, still looking through evidence.

"Espio, even the best detective in the world has to have a little personal time."

"I'm surprised you didn't say you were the best..." Espio mumbled.

"What'd ya say, Espio?" the team leader asked.

"I said I wouldn't be surprised if the others thought a break would be for the best."

"I'm sure they would. Okay, I'll go get us some refreshments. Then we'll go outside and sit in our yard since it's a nice day."

Vector went into the H.Q.'s kitchen and brought back a six-pack of cola and a ready-made snack tray of various foods and dips. The four of them then went outside and either sat around an outdoor table.

"Dig in, guys."

The whole group helped themselves to a can of soda and some snacks, especially Charmy.

"I gotta say Vector that this is one of the biggest crimes we've ever investigated in a long time," Mighty commented.

" I hear ya, Mighty. But think about it, if we manage to solve this case, the payoff and respect we're gonna get will be unlike anything before."

"Pardon me for saying so, Vector, but don't you already have enough money? After all, you did win the lottery."

"Well yeah, I did... but you have to remember, it was only fifteen million dollars. Granted, that is a lot of money, but I already had a huge chunk of it put into an account for my daughter Cream for later. And I only took a million for myself, ya know."

"Which you've already used to buy some rather expensive and unnecessary items," Espio said in a rude tone.

"I do believe a nice house for my family isn't a waste of money, Espio. And besides, my wife _and _I bought that from the rest of the fund we had left over after we all took our shares," Vector commented.

"I wasn't referring to the house. That was a wise investment. But Vector, honestly, 24kt gold jewelry, huge sounds systems and T.V.'s, first-class plane tickets, and not to mention the money you waste on gambling to satisfy your greed and the amount of gas you have to buy to keep your three gas-guzzlers running. If you ask me, I'd say you're not being wise about your actions."

"Pardon me for saying, Espio, but I'm quite offended by your comments. Since when have you earned the right to be such an asshole to your captain?" Vector asked, folding his arms.

"I'm only exercising my right to investigate that which is out-of-the-ordinary, strange, wrong, or suspicious to me, as well as offering criticism to my team mates," Espio answered affirmatively.

"Don't be so mean to Vector! The only one acting suspicious is you, Espio!" Charmy snapped.

"I'm acting suspicious? What about Sonic this morning?"

"What?" the other three said.

"Come closer. I don't want to yell and have somebody outside overhear us."

The team leaned in closer, very curious to see what Espio was about to say.

"Okay, Espio. Let's have it," Vector said.

"...Don't you find it strange that... a few days ago we unearth a huge crime that we don't know who committed... and now the world's greatest superhero shows up in town..."

"Point being?..." Mighty said.

"The point is I think this crime we're investigating is connected to Sonic somehow."

"You mean you think Sonic is the bad guy!" Charmy said in shock.

"Oh come on, Espio! You're not _that_ angry at Sonic for his little prank, are you? Vector said.

"This had nothing to do with that. It goes much deeper. I know Sonic quite well and I know how he acts. I studied him when he was with us earlier and he was not acting normal. I think he's hiding something."

"That is the most absurd thing I've ever head you say," Mighty commented.

"If it's so absurd, then how do you explain Sonic's change in behavior?"

"I can explain that," Vector said confidently. "Espio, you do realize that it has been _six years _since we have last seen Sonic?"

"Yes I do, but-"

"And you _do_ realize that in that much time Sonic has grown up _and_ matured into an adult?"

"Well... yes, that's be true. However-"

"Do you also realize that meeting up with friends and family that sonic hasn't seen in over half a decade is probably a bit overwhelming for Sonic?"

"...Yes... I do..."

"Having said all that, do you think that _any_ or_ all_ of that has anything to do with how Sonic is acting?"

"I am not dismissing the fact that Sonic may still have something to do with this based only on those loose and unconfirmed facts that easily. While your points may be possible, I have others that may yet convince you my view is valid. Do I have permission to explain my reasoning?"

"Go ahead..." Vector said, a bit reluctantly.

"I will admit that saying Sonic committed the crime we're investigating is very unlikely, but I still feel he could be connected to it all. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that at one time Sonic's brother, Manic, was in fact at one time a known thief, as well as a computer hacker and skilled mechanic. Now, I know we don't have anything on Manic, but the fact is that he has all of these skills, all of which an expert car theft operation would need. That being said, I find it impossible to ignore that all of a sudden Sonic shows up in town just after a major theft job is uncovered that Manic, his brother, hypothetically speaking, has the skills and know how to pull off."

"So, in short... you think Sonic is here to somehow help Manic if he did in fact commit the crime." Vector commented.

"Exactly."

Vector crossed his arms and gave this thought, as his partner did in fact make some points.

"Espio, I must say that you've made some strong points that are quite intriguing."

"Thank you."

"_HOWEVER_... there are three big holes in your theory that make it next to, if not, impossible. Shall I explain?"

"You're the leader. By all means."

"_First off_... though Manic was a known criminal at one time, he has _long_ since cleaned up his act. The last crime he committed was long ago. He has changed his ways, taken counseling sessions, and proved himself a valuable member of the society."

"That is very true..."

"_Second_... the one thing that has already been confirmed is that this was indeed an multi-person operation, not a solo mission. It would have been impossible for Manic to do this by himself. He would have needed help to do the job, and since Manic has long-since confessed what criminals he once worked with, not to mention helped round up many others in the same profession, there would be nobody that Manic could rely on from his previous days of crime."

"Once again, very true..."

"_And finally_... the most important thing of _all_... a lack of a motive. Manic has no reason whatsoever to do such a thing. He's been given a second chance at life, he's a revered hero, and even though he has chosen to live a simple life, he, along with his two siblings, is rich from family inheritance and gifts for helping win the war. He doesn't need money, he doesn't wish to return to his criminal ways, he isn't the type to seek revenge, and he isn't going to do anything to tarnish the reputations he's spent many years building."

"Same response as before..."

"So, to conclude this conversation, do you honestly think that what you said could possibly hold any truth at all?

Espio was hesitant to answer, but finally admitted to himself that Vector had the better point.

"You are right, Vector... My case was solely based on assumption."

"And you know what they say about assumption!" Charmy added.

"Yes, I do know what they say... I apologize for my false accusations and my rude comments to you. I must admit I did not get much sleep last night thinking about this case, so I guess I'm not myself because of that. I'm truly sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Espio. Just try to keep your thoughts an emotions under control, okay?"

The two of them shook hands, assuring that there were no hard feelings. Unbeknownst to all of Team Chaotix, a dark figure hiding nearby in the shadows of an alleyway had been eavesdropping on their conversation. The figure then dialed a number on a cell phone and waited for the other end to pick up.

"...Yeah, it's me. Listen to this. I'm here at the Chaotix place... I was tryin' to steal ammo, what did ya think?... Naw, I couldn't get in... Whateva. Listen, I overhead a conversation from them and you'll never guess who's back in town... No, not my sister... _Sonic the Hedgehog_... I kid you not... I'm abso-bloody-lutely sure that's what they said... I'm not sure why he's back, but I think he's up to something with his brother, Manic... You know something, you might be rioght... He just _might_ be in town for that, mate... If that's the case, we could make a lot of moolah off of something like that... Where do you think we mioght find that bastard, though?... That's using your noggin!... We'll all go there later tonoight and see if he shows up... No, I don't think we'll go _that_ far, but we could pack a wallop into him... I'll be there shortly, mate... Alroight..."

The figure ended his phone call and lowered the phone from face level. As quietly as possible, the figure crept down the alleyway and got inside a black Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. As the vehicle's massive engine was started, a smile crossed the lips of the unseen being.

"Sonic the Hedgehog... crikey..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Phew! I'll bet that's what you are all saying after reading this behemoth!

I honestly hope I didn't go too over the top with this chapter. I know it was long and nothing particularly exciting happened. I want you to know that it was either one long chapter or a bunch of shorter ones that in the end would probably be longer than this. I wasn't happy with either choice, but this was the better of the choice.

Either way, I hope that I you guys enjoyed this chapter. Although the next chapter still has more character development, it will have action in it. I promise.


	8. Making Plans

**Author's notes**:

I'm clearly not keeping up with my updates as much as promised that I would. I do apologize for that. However, I would like to take this time to mention that I'm filled with joy at the popularity this story is getting. At this point I've got three times the attention then my first story did at this same point. All of your reviews are truly appreciated.

I'd like to give a shout out to **An-Twan Star** right now. I'm glad that the changes I've made to this story have made you want to read. That's the kind of information I need to know so I can judge if I'm doing a good job or not. Also, I'm glad you caught onto my use of "Highway Star" in the previous chapter. The fact that you noticed that inspired me to go back and edit the chapter to where Sonic played another song rather than the DDR game.

This was supposed to be another mega-chapter like the last, but I decided that I didn't like how the events went together. While there still is a little action in this chapter, there's not as much as I originally intended. The good news is that the next chapter after this one will most likely be the last of the slow, character-building chapters. After that we'll start getting to the good stuff.

Lastly, I'd just like to give a warning that there are one or two parts of this chapter that **_EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY_** deal with touchy topics. Quite honestly, I don't see anything wrong with it and anybody who has an ounce of maturity should be able to handle it. All I can say is that if you're offended by one or two things in this chapter then I'm sorry, but in all fairness I was tame with what I wrote.

* * *

**Chapter 8** - Making Plans

Needless to say, by the time Manic, Sonic, and Julie had finished bringing everybody up to date, the rest of the original team that had yet to hear this new information was in disbelief. From there Manic and his team went on to describe how they'd gone about getting all the cars they did in the time they did.

"So, I figure if we get the twenty cars back from the impound and space out stealing the last eighty cars by playing shadow games over the next three nights, then we can get this done. Who here agree with me?"

Manic waited for somebody to raise their hand and agree. The only response he got was the sound of breathing, silent stares, and the sound of Ray's nervous hands fidgiting about.

"Does anybody still speak English in here?" Manic asked with a nervous laugh.

"I'm far from being an expert thief, but Manic, do you honestly think we can just barge into the freaking police impound and starting stealing cars?" Silver asked.

"Not only that, but don't you also think that since the cops know what's going on now they'll be looking for us more?" Rotor added.

"You're also acting like we know exactly where every car is," Tails pointed out.

"M-m-most of-of-of all, we d-don't have anyw-w-where to st-st-store the c-c-c-cars now since the cops t-t-took our hiding p-place," Rays stuttered.

Manic threw his arms up in the air and flopped them back down in frustration as he sat back in his chair and rolled his eyes.

"Then what the hell do you guys wanna do, huh? Today's already pretty much of a wash. That means we got Wednesday and Thursday, tomorrow and the day after, to get our shit together and somehow pull this off. Since you guys have poo-pooed my plan and none of you guys seem to be making any suggestions, I'd like to know just how the hell we plan to steal a hundred cars in two days!"

A long, uncomfortable silence following Manic's rant. Manic looked all of his original and new teammates in the eyes, looking for an answer.

"May I say something?" Cosmo asked innocently.

"What is it?" Manic snapped.

Cosmo flinched a little at the harsh reaction but decided to go ahead with what she was going to say.

"I know you're stressed with the current situation, but if just calm down and think this through with your friends, them I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a plan that-"

"Oh God, shut the hell up!" Manic screamed, jumping to his feet. "What do you think this is? A tea party for planning a wedding! My ass is on the line! If it doesn't get done right then I get to enjoy the pleasure of being roboticized! So unless you have something far more important or helpful to say then keep your trap shut you stupid weed!"

Manic had no sooner finished his sentence when he started regretting having said it. Cosmo started to sniffle and her eyes welled up at having been offended so harshly. Cosmo wasn't the only one who had been offended by Manic's remarks. Tails was furious with Manic for having insulted and saddened his love, and he wasn't about to let this event go by peacefully.

"Cosmo... I'm sorry I-"

"**YOU'RE DAMN _RIGHT_ YOU ARE!**"

Tails sprinted forward and rammed Manic, sending the chair the hedgehog was in toppling backwards and the both of them into a heated brawl on the floor. Tails managed to pin Manic down with his left hand and deliver a half a dozen swift punches to Manic's face before the hedgehog sent his knee into the fox's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Manic seized the moment and kicked Tails off him, got to his feet, and pinned the fox into the nearest wall, delivering more punches to the already gasping fox's gut. Out of desperation, Tails stomped one of Manic's feet, and in the second that Manic had stopped moving from the pain in his foot, Tails delivered a hard kick to Manic's groin. Manic howled in pain and dropped to his knees, holding the source of his intense pain. Then, to top it all off, Tails picked up his Guitar Hero controller and swung it like a baseball bat into Manic's back, knocking him to the floor. Tossing the controller aside Tails was about to continue his onslaught but was halted when Julie-Su came up from behind him and locked Tails in her robotic arms. Manic also tried to get to his feet but Sonic came over and held him back too.

"Don't insult Cosmo you son of a bitch!" Tails shrieked, trying to get free.

"I said I was sorry, you asshole!" Manic retorted, trying to shove his brother aside.

"I don't give a damn! I won't tolerate you or anybody doing anything to hurt Cosmo!"

"It's not like I was asking her to join us on this job, ya know!"

"IF YOU EVEN _THINK_ ABOUT TRYING THAT I'LL TEAR YOUR FREAKING THROAT OUT!"

"_**ENOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUGH!**_"

The plea for peace came from none other than Cosmo, who had gotten to her feet and was clenching her fists, trying to hold back tears. Seeing this released whatever anger Tails still felt as he rushed over to Cosmo. Tails placed his hands on his love's shoulders and looked her in the eyes, quietly apologizing. For a second, it looked like Cosmo would push away, but she ended up throwing her arms around Tails and whimpered into his shoulder. Tails returned the favor.

"Oh Tails... look what this is doing to us!... _All_ of us!... Friends are turning on friends!..." she sobbed into his shoulder.

Tails tightened his grip on Cosmo, knowing that she was genuinely upset. Sonic looked down at his green brother who had a look of shame on his face. Getting to his feet, Manic felt terrible for having done what he had. Manic approached the embraced couple and held out his hand as a gesture of peace to Tails. The fox was hesitant, but knowing that staying angry would not help the situation, Tails shook Manic's hand as an act of forgiveness. Everybody then took to their seats again as yet another uncomfortable silence filled the room. Only Sonic was still on his feet.

"Does anybody have a damn clue what we should do?" Manic asked in a semi-depressed tone.

"As long as I won't get my ass kicked for it, I have an idea," Sonic stated.

"I'm all ears, dude."

All eyes were on Sonic as he stepped forward and prepared to speak.

"First off, I just want to thank your original team, Manic. They're the ones who gave me this idea."

"I don't see how what they said could be of any help, but go ahead."

"Well, first off, I agree with Silver that breaking into the police impound isn't a good idea. It should only be done if it absolutely has to. No sense in risking getting caught again."

"I disagree because it'll mean more work for us all."

"Well then, let's vote on this. Who agrees with me on this?"

All hands went up except Manic's.

"Sorry bro. Looks like that's how things will be. And speaking of how things will be, after hearing what Tails said, tomorrow _will_ be dedicated solely to researching, locating, and scouting each and every one of the cars on the list."

"Are you ser-"

"_Dead_ serious, Manic. We don't have time to look them all up as we go. We just have to bite the bullet and find them. _All_ of them. That'll leave the rest of the time for us to get gear, plans, and ourselves together. Show of hands who agree this is better than the previous method?"

Once again, all hands went up except Manic's. The green hedgehog scoffed at the apparent lack of faith in his methods.

"And lastly, what Rotor and Ray said. The longer we draw this out, the more attention we're gonna draw attention to ourselves. And since the police are no doubt already on the prowl for us, we've got to keep on the L.D. and not leave the cars we steal just sitting around."

"Sooooooo... what are you suggesting?"

"I'm saying that we juice our way through the cars in one shot."

Suddenly, Ray squeaked in a frightened way.

"S-S-Sonic... are y-you... s-saying what I... think y-you're saying?"

"Yes Ray, I am. No more storing the cars until the delivery date. We're gonna steal all one-hundred cars in one night."

Everybody in the room looked at each other, all of them wondering if they were all thinking they'd heard what they'd heard.

"One night?" Manic asked.

"One night."

"_One_ night?" Manic asked again.

"One night. Twelve hours, to be precise. Eight to eight."

Manic couldn't believe what his brother was saying, partly because the plan sounded ludicrous, but also because Sonic was actually trying to think like a thief, even if he was coming up with next-to-impossible plans.

"It's a blitzkrieg," Tails said.

"Say what?" Sonic asked.

"Blitzkrieg. It's a German term meaning "lightning war" and refers to a fast-paced, surprise attack that doesn't allow for opposition."

"Exactly. With a one-night boost by the time anybody figures out what's going on we'll already have all the cars and they nobody will be able to stop us."

The silence was deafening in the room as the reality of what Sonic had just proposed sank into everybody's minds

"Remember guys-"

"Ah-hem!"

"And gals," Sonic added, looking at Julie and Sonia, "I'm not saying we have to do it like this. If you guys have an idea that's better than mine I'll gladly step aside and let you take the spotlight. But if anybody does agree with me that this is how we should do it, the polls are open."

This time, nobody's hands went up. In fact, nobody was even looking at Sonic. Whether it was because nobody agreed with him or because everybody was starting to rethink dissing Manic was a bad idea he could not tell. It looked like all hope in his grand scheme had been lost.

"I... I... I'm in!" Ray stuttered, getting to his feet.

For a moment, everybody looked at Ray in disbelief. But then Sonia got to her feet too.

"I'm like, so in Sonic."

"As am I," Chuck added, getting to his feet.

"I didn't come all this way just to disagree. I'm with you," Julie said, getting up.

"Me too," Rotor said, also getting up.

"Might as well. I ain't got any other ideas," Silver admitted, standing up in a jaunty way.

Cosmo then got to her feet. Sonic already knew that she wasn't in on the job, but she was undoubtedly happy that a plan had been found.

"I'm glad to figured something out, Sonic," she admitted.

"Yeah, I have my moments. What can I say?"

Cosmo then looked over at Manic who had a look of disappointed betrayal on it. Sonic thought maybe he ought to say something, but Cosmo beat him to it. She walked over to him and took one of his hands in her own. It was clear Manic wasn't thrilled about everybody turning on him because he looked at Cosmo with a "I don't want to talk" look on his face.

"I know you're scared, Manic. But we're all scared. Even so, everybody is here because they want to help you, especially Sonic. And the easier we can make this horrible situation, the quicker we can get through it and get on with our lives. Please Manic. Please help them get through this together as a team, as friends, and as family."

The entire room had been moved by Cosmo's speech and could only hope it had the same effect on Manic. For a minute Manic sat in deep ponder with a completely apathetic expression on his face.

"What's it gonna be, bro?" Sonic asked.

Manic looked up at his brother, back at Cosmo, then got to his feet and held his hand out to his brother.

"OK, Sonic. You win. I'm in."

"Way past cool, bro," Sonic answered, shaking Manic's hand.

As Manic headed back to his seat Cosmo stopped him and to his surprise kissed his cheek, earning a look of surprise from both Manic and Tails. Once seated, it was time for sonic to get things going.

"Alright... I just want to say something before we get started here. We are a team, but since this is my plan we are going to do this my way. I'm the one running the show. Questions or comments?"

Everybody in the room gave either a quick verbal or physical acknowledgement, Manic included.

"Allllllllllllllrighty then. Let's get to work."

For the few couple hours everybody worked together to plan out as much as possible for the next two days. Topics included were where they might be able to find cars easiest, what equipment they would need, how they'd go about scouting their targets, how to avoid police detection, how they'd get the cars to Robotnik, the safest routes to take when traveling in the stolen vehicles, what they would do if somebody needed help for some reason, who they might try to get guard the Master Emerald for Knuckles, and other related topics. Finally at around 6:30 P.M. not much more progress could be made because there wasn't anything that could be planned or thought of ahead of time. Not only that, but everybody was getting tired of sitting around plotting and thinking.

"Well... I don't know about you guys, but I think we should call it a day. There's not really too much more we can do here and it's too late in the day for us to start anything big."

There were murmurs and words of everybody else agreeing that everything that could have been done today had been done. The only person who was still working was Manic who was furiously typing away on his laptop.

"Soooo... if we're done for today... then what should do now?" Rotor asked.

"I guess we'll just have a good time. Hell, since I haven't been home for six years I'd kinda like to have a little fun," Sonic responded.

"That's what she said," Silver joked.

There was a round of laughter at Silver's well-timed joke. Sonic, however, could only fake a chuckle. Though it was only a joke, a brief flash of a bad memory ran through his mind. Desperately looking for a way to change the subject, Sonic focused his attention on his brother who was typing away on his laptop.

"Hey Manic, you're typing like it's going out of style. Sup?" Sonic asked.

"I'm just finishing up creating a backup of the car list. It's making me nervous to have only one copy of it around in case we lose it. And why are you asking me that? You just told me to do this a minute ago."

"Oh yeah... Guess my brain's a little bit fried from this afternoon."

"I have a solution for that, Sonic," Sonia said.

"What's that, sis?"

"Do you remember Rouge?"

"Rouge the Bat? Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Well, tonight she's throwing a little party. She invited anybody she knew close to come."

"Where's she holding it?"

"At her club."

"Say _what_!"

"Oh that's right, you don't know. Rouge opened up her own club a while back. She named it 'Club Rouge.' Real creative, I know. But anyway, she's holding a private party because Mina's in town."

"Mina... as in... Mina _Mongoose_?"

"Yup."

"Wow! How's she doing these days?"

"Well, I could tell you, but that would spoil the surprise."

"Surprise?" Sonic asked.

"Well, it's a surprise only for you since you ain't been around for a while. What do you say? You guys interested?"

A resounding yes signaled it was time to go. They had to wait a minute for Julie to send of a communique to Knuckles using one of Tails' radios to another radio on the floating island, however.

"I think you should go with the, Julie. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I know, but... You know how I feel about that... _bat_..."

"The feeling is mutual, my love. But you haven't gone out to have a good time for a while now. Plus, Sonic's back. At least go for him."

Julie thought for a minute then smiled.

"You're right, Knuckles."

"Of course I am. Go have a good time, Julie. I'll be fine. And don't worry about Rouge. You know our soul touch is stronger than ever. Rouge can flirt all she wants but it will all be in vain. She can't break us up no matter how hard she tries."

"Okay, I will. And I'll update you on everything when I get back later tonight."

"See you then."

The group of all ten of them paraded out to Tails' hangar to use one of his jet's to fly back to Station Square since the train's had proven themselves unreliable today. Looking inside they found a whole fleet of aircraft, ranging from primitive prop-powered bi-planes to the most radically designed fighter jets.

"So which jet are we gonna take, Tails? You certainly got enough of them."

"Oh, we're not taking any of these."

"Then... what are we gonna take?"

Tails only smirked and began walking to a large aircraft that was covered with an opaque gray tarp.

"Hmmhmmhmm..." Chuck chuckled.

"What's so funny, Unc.?" Sonic asked.

"You'll see."

Whatever Tails was about to do was obviously special since Uncle Chuck was being so secretive about it. Sonic knew that of all of Tails' skills, aircraft was undisputedly his top forte, and he now had a feeling he was about to see one of Tails' latest and greatest additions to his collection of flyable vehicles.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Station Square, a black Jeep with three occupants was slowly creeping along a series of back streets and alleyways.

"So where are we going again?" asked a high-pitched, young voice.

"I already told ya we're going to Club Rouge."

"But we're not going to be able to get inside," said the back seat passenger again.

"Crikey, whacka! You think I didn't already know that!"

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"You mind telling this bloke what it is we're doing? He's givin' me a damn headache listenin' to him!" the driver said to another passenger in the shotgun seat.

"We're going to Club Rouge to wait for Sonic so we can... _give him a welcome home party_..." said a deep-voiced being in the back seat.

"I already know that! But neither of you has said exactly what we're gonna do once we get there."

"Come to think of it, he's right. Since we're not going to be able to get in, what exactly _are_ we gonna do?"

"Well, if I know Sonic, I reckon he's gonna show up with a mob of his mates. Strioking then would be a fruit-loop-of-a move. I reckon if we wait long enough the bloke will show his face outsoide. When he does it'll be the perfect time to... _say g'day_... ya dig?"

"But what if Sonic stays in there for a long time?" asked the passenger in the rear.

"Then we'll wait. You know how fast Sonic can run. I don't want to miss this opportunity, even if it means waiting all noight."

The Jeep emerged from an alleyway and found itself right across from their destination.

"Alright, mates, we'll wait here for now. Once we Sonic shows up we'll have to be on guard so we don't miss him comin' back out."

"Do you really think Sonic will show up with Mina Mongoose around?," the front passenger pointed out.

"Don't worry, mate. He'll be here. And so will Mina... Crikey... That Mina, I tell ya... What I wouldn't give to get that woman in bed... The things I'd do to her... I'd start by ripping off all her clothes with my teeth and then I'd-"

"Oh come on, man! You tryin' to make me puke or something? I don't need to hear about your sexual fantasies in detail," the rear passenger said.

"That goes double for me."

"Hmmhmmhmm... You blokes don't know a thing about good sex with a sheila. Ah well..."

* * *

"LIKE, OH MY _GOD_! I HAVE TO GET ONE OF THESE FOR MYSELF!" Sonia exclaimed to herself.

The group found themselves inside Tails' very own turbo-prop business plane. With so many seats available there was more than enough spaces for everybody to sit down. Inside the passenger area there was every luxury imaginable, from reclining leather seats, to a complete entertainment center for all to enjoy, and even a full-access bar.

"You guys take a seat and get comfortable. Cosmo and I will do the flying," Tails said.

"Actually Tails... if you don't mind, I'd like Sonic to be your co-pilot since you haven't seen him in a while. Is that OK?" Cosmo asked.

"Of course it is, sweetheart," Tails answered, kissing Cosmo.

"Lead the way," Sonic said.

As everybody else took their seats Tails and Sonic entered the cockpit. The duo took their seats and put on headsets so they could communicate with air control as well as each other. After hitting a few buttons and flipping a few switches, the plane began to tremble as it's two engines started. After a few minutes of warm-up time, Tails taxied out onto the runway and readied for take off. As they sat on the runway, Tails pushed a button on his headset which switched them to an air-control tower frequency.

"Station Square Tower, experimental, November tango oscar romeo one two, requesting takeoff at runway fow-er."

"_Experimental, November tango oscar romeo one two, cleared for take off, runway fow-er_," said a voice in Tails' headset.

"Roger, cleared for takeoff, runway fow-er, experimental, November tango oscar romeo one two," Tails responded.

Tails gripped the dual throttle levers and pushed them all the way forward, accelerating them down the runway. Once they'd gained enough speed Tails pulled back on the control stick and they were airborne. After gaining a few hundred feet Tails banked the plane to the right and they circled around, continuing to climb. Once they'd reached a decent height they leveled off and Tails activated the auto-pilot, setting it for Station Square. The plane's computer processed the auto-pilot data and automatically plotted a course to take them all directly to Station Square. Tails then pushed another button on his headset so he could speak to the passengers.

"Okay guys, we should be in Station Square at about 7:30 P.M., roughly forty-five minutes from now. Feel free to enjoy all the little goodies back there for the time being."

Tails switched his headset back to cockpit setting so he could communicate with Sonic.

"Damn, Tails. What favors did you do to earn this bird?"

"I didn't. I built it myselfj."

"Say _what_!"

"You don't really think I'd spend money on something I could just build, do you? And didn't you notice the I.D. number on the side? N.T.O.R.1.2? The N is just part of the code for this region, but the rest is short-hand for Tornado 12."

"Heh... I guess you're right. And since your parents are as rich as they are, you could probably build a whole fleet of these things."

"And then some."

"Still... don't you have some sort of job to keep you busy?"

"Yeah... I guess you could say that. Me, Rotor, Manic, and Uncle Chuck are all part of a sort or... how can I put this... free-lance engineer team? Basically, we put out our names and/or designs for various projects that we think we can be helpful in. Sometimes we get chosen, sometimes we don't. It's not much in my opinion, but hey, it's a living."

"Sweet deal, Tails. At least you're doing what ya like."

"As is Ray."

"Oh? What's he doing?"

"Training to join Team Chaotix."

The look on Sonic's face said it all. He looked at his fox friend as if he were questioning his sanity.

"Don't worry. Ray might be a scaredy-cat, but he's not a tattle-tale.'

"Aren't you worried that Vector, who's most likely investigating this case, might get tipped off as to what's going on through ray?"

"Well, since Ray's an agent in training, he isn't going out into the field with Vector and everybody else much. But since Vector is his mentor, Ray is in contact with Vector a lot. And since Vector isn't always the smartest fellow, he has a tendency to leak a little more info to Ray than he should. It's that little edge that helped us escape when we almost got caught because Ray knows about police procedures and told us how to get around them."

"Hmph... Just have to hope Vector and the others never find out."

"True. But then take Julie-Su. She's part of the Brotherhood of Guardians with Knuckles. If it ever leaked that they were helping us with this they'd be thrown out on the spot. And that's pretty much how it goes for all of us. We all swore at the beginning of this that once this was done we'd let it go as if it were dust in the wind."

"I just hope Sonia can keep up that end of the bargain. She told me on our way out that she opened her own fashion boutique a while back. The one thing I know about my sister is she likes to talk fashion. Just have to hope she would never accidentally let it slip."

"I don't think she'd do that. She may like to talk, but she's not that naive."

"Speaking of naive, how does Silver get by these days, since we seem to have gotten on the topic of how we make a living?"

"Well, Silver hasn't done quite as good as the rest of us. A few years ago Silver got into, and I do mean _got into,_ techno music. Since then he's gone to music school and taken all types of lessons to become a techno musician with the goal of selling records."

Sonic laughed out loud a little upon learning this fact.

"Looks like that turned out to be a flop, eh?"

"Well, not exactly Sonic. He's had a few small hits here and there, but nothing chart-topping yet. He just hasn't been able to come up with that one song that brings him above everything else and shows he's got talent."

"I'm surprised Blaze has stayed with him this long while dealing with his not-so-great career. And speaking of relationships, how have things been going with you and Cosmo?"

Tails blushed ever-so-slightly at the question, peaking Sonic's curiosity.

"I'll tell ya this, Sonic... I spent a lot years of my life missing Cosmo. As time went on and I matured those feelings only increased. It was so tempting to give up on somehow bringing Cosmo back and just settle for one of the who knows how many girls I had begging for me to be their man. And then, one day about a year ago, I had a dream about me and Cosmo being back together... and then it all came to me. I woke up and, long story short, proved my feelings were valid and the next thing I knew Cosmo and I were back together again."

"I feel guilty about having left you alone for so long and for not having been there when she came back."

"It's not your fault, Sonic. You went your way and I went mine. That's life. But I will tell you this... When Cosmo came back I truly appreciated what it means when they say you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone. I was so damn happy that day... To think that after all those years of not knowing how to feel or what to do I finally had somebody I knew I could share my feelings with. We were always there for each other long ago, and we still are now."

"You don't know how happy that makes me to hear that, Tails. I can't think of anything that could break your bond any stronger with Cosmo."

"There's not must that could separate us. And that goes especially since we consummated our relationship a little while ago on the one-year anniversary that Cosmo came back."

"Well that's good... I mean if you and Cosmo consummated your relationship then... Wait a second... Consummated?"

"Uh-huh."

"_Consummated?_"

"Uh.. yeah. That is what I said, isn't it?"

Sonic's eyes were unnaturally wide and he had his hands stuck into his quills in disbelief. "Tails... you mean to tell me that at sixteen years of age... you and Cosmo..."

"Had sex?"

Sonic cringed. Tails thought it was due to how straight-forward his friend was being.

"Oh grow up, Sonic. I'm a responsible and intelligent young man. I knew what I was doing."

"But Tails! You're only sixteen! Doing something like that at this age can have... really bad consequences!"

"If you're worried about Cosmo getting pregnant, that's impossible. Remember, though she shares some anatomy of mammals, she's a plant in essence. And if your worried about me having feelings for another girl after having sex with Cosmo, again don't worry. You don't go wishing to have somebody back as long as I did and then crap out after all. And lastly, if your worried about me or Cosmo regretting what we did, it's a moot point. She doesn't regret it, I don't regret it, so where's the harm?"

"Well... I hope that's the case. I mean, as long as you don't go spreading the the fact that-"

"Too late. You're brother let the cat out of the basket to just about everybody we know the day after. Don't worry, only Manic made a big deal out of it. Everybody else accepted it for what it was and let it go. Simple as that."

Sonic was now unusually quiet, so much so that it actually concerned Tails.

"It's alright, Sonic. Nobody was offended by what I did. And besides, Amy gave us permission to make fun of Manic for having made my private life out. That's why I made that joke back at my house about his life with Amy. And I'm sure you've heard your sister make a crack or two as well."

Tails was just about to take off his headset and walk over to his hedgehog friend when Sonic moved his mouth like he was going to speak.

"As long as you know what you're doing that's all that matters. And you seem like you have things under control."

There was obviously something still on Sonic's mind and Tails decided to press the issue just a little bit more.

"Sonic... something is still on your mind. You know you can talk to me."

It took a long time for Sonic to answer, but when he did, it wasn't what Tails was expecting.

"It's just... after hearing everything you've told me in these past few minutes... It's just making me mad that all of you have worked so hard to make the lives that you have... and now... once again... Robuttnik is up to his shit and he's trying to pull us down..."

Tails reached over and comfortingly patted Sonic on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Sonic. With you around now, I've never felt so confident we could get this done. And hey, remember why we're going to see Rouge. To forget about this for a little while. So let's try to do that, huh?"

No sooner had Tails finished his sentence when an alarm went off in the cockpit. Looking over Tails found that he was receiving a call on his in-flight phone. Tails flicked another switch and answered.

"Miles Prower speaking... Rouge! I was just talking about you!... How ironic is that?... Yeah, we're coming... In my plane... Yeah, that one... Heheheheh..."

As Tails continued his conversation with Rouge Sonic sat pondering a dark, depressing though swirling around in his mind. He'd only half told the truth to Tails when he was asked what was bothering him. The other half of the truth was an event that happened six years ago, the night that Robotnik had finally been defeated and all the Freedom Fighters rejoiced in victory. That night Sonic took a chance that he thought would bring happiness into his life, but in turn it only ruined what he had. In fact, what happened that night turned out to be what caused him to leave and miss all the things he'd been looking forward to after the war.

"So you say to be there around eight?... Sounds good... Yup, we'll be there... Okay Rouge, see ya soon... Later..."

Tails flicked his headsets back to the cockpit setting and continued to fly. It bugged the fox that Sonic's mood seemed to be down, a condition that Tails knew all too well took something drastic to do. But what was also obvious was that Sonic didn't really want to talk about it, so Tails decided to just let it go and hope that Sonic's mood would improve by itself.

* * *

Back in Station Square just a short ways away from Club Rouge the black Jeep still sat silently spying on the building in front of it. The only person still awake in it was the driver. The front and rear passengers had fallen asleep in the past hour, much to the annoyance of the driver. But finally there was a sign of activity. A taxi pulled up out front of the club and a pink female hedgehog got out of it.

"_Amy Rose_... _That's a promising soign... The rest of em should be showing up soon then..." _the driver thought.

Amy was completely unaware that a pair of eyes was watching her as she entered the club. For all she knew, she was out for a night of fun with friends.

_"If she's there, Sonic will be there...," t_he driver thought with an evil smirk. "Come on, Sonic... Don' disappoint me, mate..."

* * *

**Author's Notes**:

No matter what I did with this chapter I was not fully happy with it. It is, in essence, a filler chapter, but not having it would not set up the story the right way. In fact, this is officially my least favorite chapter so far. Hope you guys and gals got more enjoyment out of it than I did.

I promise you there will be a nice dose of drama and action in the next chapter. In addition, there'll be a few things that I hope will make you think or say "I didn't see _that_ coming."

The next chapter I will try to have up very soon because it's one that I've been loking forward to doing. I'm just going to let some reviews roll in first to see if there are any points or suggestions I should take before I move on.


	9. Veteran's Reunion

**Author's Notes**:

Happy belated 4th of July Holiday!

The night of events we're entering is one of the big scenes of this story. Therefore, I've broken it up into parts. As it stands, this is a two-part chapter. It might go to three parts, but I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see how the next chapter goes to determine that. This part, I'm happy to say, contains the drama I've been promising. The long-awaited action, however, will come in the next chapter, I PROMISE. Also coming in the next chapter, at long last, I'm going to reveal the entire list of cars. Whether you know a lot about cars or nothing at all, it doesn't matter. You'll get an idea of just how insane the car list is once you see it.

* * *

**Chapter 9** - **Night of Trouble Part 1****- Veteran's Reunion  
**

The cityscape of Station Square was starting to become visible from the cockpit of Tails' plane. At this hour the sun was at the angle that it illuminated the city with a stunning aura that could be seen for miles. As they got closer all the buildings looked like crystals protruding from the ground that reflected the orange, red, and yellow rays of the sunset. Currently, Sonic had donned a pair of sunglasses that Tails had lent to him since the glare at this time of day was difficult on the eyes. Tails also had a pair on as well, though his were a rather expensive looking pair of Ray Ban aviator sunglasses.

"Damn that's a beautiful sight..." Sonic said suddenly, lifting his shades up a little to get a better look.

"I almost forgot I had a co-pilot," Tails joked.

Sonic smirked at his long-time fox friend. Tails couldn't help but admire Sonic as he looked out cockpit looking at him after all this time took Tails back to the night he realized Sonic would always be there to help him. His mind drifted back to a night with a similar sunset.

* * *

**(FLASHBACK)**

It had been almost a month after the war with Robotnik had been interrupted by the inter-galactic war with the robotic Metarex race. Though the Metarex uprising had been squelched, it came at a lofty price. Tails, only eight years old at the time, had experience a grave loss. Cosmo, a young alien plant girl he'd fallen in love with during the war, had to be sacrificed in order to defeat the enemy. What was worse was that Tails was the one who was responsible for the final act that resulted in her death. The effects of that event on the young fox were apparent in both his performance in the field and at base.

On this particular night, everybody was celebrating a monumental victory against Robotnik. A huge party was thrown and all were having a good time, rejoicing and embracing the momentous occasion. All except one person. Alone, in his hut, sat Tails, curled up and under the sheets of his bed. He was in no mood or condition to be part of the celebrations. Naturally, this absence did not go unnoticed, particulary by a certain blue hedgehog.

"Hey Tails! You in there, big guy?" Sonic said, knocking on Tails' front door.

The little fox did not answer, nor did he want to. He knew why Sonic was there and he did not want to deal with him right now. But little did Tails know that Sonic had borrowed one of his brother's lock picks and with very little effort, Sonic had the door open. At first, Sonic thought Tails wasn't there, judging by the fact that nothing appeared to have been moved for quite some time. Tails tried to hide his presence by pulling the covers up over him completely, but such a childish trick was useless.

"Tails... I know you're there," the hedgehog said, shutting the door behind him and flicking on a lamp Tails had made. "Come on, little buddy! There's a party going on! Let's go have some fun."

"Leave me alone..."

The tone of Tails' voice confirmed his hunches that Tails was still upset with what had happened. Of course, Sonic couldn't blame him, but he still knew something had to be done. The fact was Robotnik was still in power and if they had any chance of winning, they would need Tails' up and coming mechanical and technical skills to do so.

"We need to talk, Tails."

"Go... away..."

Sonic took a seat on the end of the bed and tried to pull the covers off of Tails, but he held them back.

"Come on, Tails. You know I'm not gonna leave until we talk."

"Shut up and go away..."

"Don't you think you're being a little unfair to me?"

"Unfair? **Unfair!**" Tails shouted, sitting up and throwing the covers off of himself. "What the hell would you know know about unfair!"

"Tails, shhhhh! And watch you're language."

"See! There ya go already! You're trying to avoid the problem at hand! Well I won't let you! You think I'm being unfair? What about what happened to me! That's unfair! And don't give me that crap that life isn't always fair! This goes beyond that!"

"I know you're upset, Tails, but we still have a war to win with Robotnik. I know you don't want to hear this, but you can't let this keep bringing you down like this."

Tails looked at Sonic as if he were a mad man, but then broke down crying into his hands as he wrapped his twin tals around himself.

"You just don't get it..."

"Get what?"

"I... murdered... her... How do you think that makes me feel?"

"You didn't murder her, Tails.

"What do you mean?" Tails said, looking up.

"Nobody wanted Cosmo to die the way she did, especially you. I know that. What happened to her is one of the saddest things we've ever seen. But you did not murder her, Tails. Murder is when a killing is thought out before hand and done for a bad reason. Now you tell me honestly... did you think about this before hand?"

"...No..."

"Did you do it because of malice?"

"...No..."

"Then did you murder Cosmo, as you say you did?"

Though Tails didn't answer, Sonic knew he'd gotten the point. But there was still something troubling the young kitsune.

"You're right, Sonic... but..."

"But?..."

"I still... killed her... I pulled the trigger that shot you and Shadow into her..."

"I know. But how do you think I feel? Remember, you may have fired, but who was the bullet?"

Tails' eyebrows raised. He'd never considered that before.

"I know you're sad, Tails. But that doesn't mean you have to grieve alone. We're all grieving. And we're all here for you."

"But... I'm too much weight for anybody to carry right now..."

"Tails... you ain't heavy... you're my brother."

Once again Tails broke into tears, but not of sadness. They were tears of relief, of appreciation, and even of happiness. Even if they weren't related by blood, the truth was they were brothers. Tails leapt forward and embraced his hedgehog brother, which Sonic gladly returned.

"I love you, big bro..." Tails said into Sonic's shoulder.

"I love you too, little buddy..."

**(END FLASHBACK)**

* * *

Many times after that night for the next two years Sonic was there to comfort Tails. Even after a six year absence, Tails still got the same feeling of security and warmth from just looking at Sonic. He always felt the brotherly love from the hedgehog every time they communicated, despite the fact that he and Sonic weren't related by blood. It didn't matter though, because regardless of how they were related or how long they were apart, it had always been and still was the same. They were always there for each other, especially now.

"Sonic..."

"Yeah?... Sup?..."

"...You alright?... From earlier, I mean."

"Hmph... Yeah, I'm good. I just got a lot on my mind, ya know? But being up hear, flying with ya, it's bringing back so many memories."

"Glad you're back to your old self. The last thing I need is an emohog flying with me."

"Teh heh! Yeah, that's for sure!"

A beeper sounded on the auto-pilot control panel. Tails pushed a few buttons and flicked a few switches on that panel, then switched his headset to the passenger cabin.

"Alright guys, we're getting close to the city. I'm gonna ask you get into a seat and buckle up."

Clicking back to cockpit frequency, Tails took hold of the control stick started to nose the aircraft down while pulling back on throttle levers to reduce speed. There was, however, something that was bugging Sonic. Rather than turning inland for the Station Square International Airport, Tails seemed to be turning towards the edge of Station Square, headed for the ocean. Before Sonic could ask what was going on, Tails clicked onto the frequency to talk to air control towers.

"Emerald Coast Tower, experimental, November tango oscar romeo one two, requesting permission to land."

"_Experimental, November tango oscar romeo one two, cleared for landing on runway one niner."_

"Roger, cleared for landing, runway one niner, experimental, November tango oscar romeo one two."

In order to line up for their runway, Tails slowly tuned the plane around roughly one-hundred and eighty degrees. Now lined up for the runway Tails pulled way back on the throttle, lowered the flaps, turned on the landing lights, and nosed down a bit more. But just as he was reaching for another lever, the door to the cockpit slammed open.

"W-W-W-W-W-WHAT'S G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-OING ON! W-W-W-W-W-W-ERE HEADED FOR TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-E WAT-T-T-T-T-T-ER!"

Sure enough, Sonic looked outside and saw that they were indeed headed for the water. This puzzled the hedgehog since they'd taken off from the land. Before he could start to question if anything was wrong, Tails laughed.

"Ray... do you _honestly_ think that I'm not aware of that?"

"Then... everyth-th-thing is o-o-o-okay?"

"Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier, but this plane is designed to take off on both land _and_ water."

Tails reached back for the lever from before and pulled it all the way back. The sound of some sort of mechanical occurrence could be heard and felt inside the cockpit, followed by a slight bump. "**Water Pontoons Down**" flashed up on one of the control panel's display screens.

"See?" Tails said.

Ray blushed a deep shade of crimson in embarrassment as he turned away and left the cockpit, pulling the door shut behind him. Sonic and Tails shared a quick humorous glance, then returned forward. Pulling the throttle back even more, Tails lined the jet up perfectly between the buoy markers for the water runway. A few hundred feet off the ground Tails pulled the throttle down to practically nothing and leveled the jet out. Moments later they touched down on the water. It was a little bit rougher than Sonic had expected, but it was still a picture-perfect landing. Tails activated reverse-thrust to slow down and brought the jet down to a crawl. A few hundred feet away thee was a perfect view of the Emerald Coast beach resort and hotel, the same one that Sonic and his siblings had parked at earlier. Tails flicked a new switch on his headset.

"Emerald Coast Harbor Master, this is the Tornado Twelve, an experimental seaplane. I'm requesting permission to dock, over."

"_Copy that Tornado Twelve, you have permission to dock. Proceed to beach-side piers, dock seven, over." _

"Roger, proceeding to beach-side piers, dock seven. Thank you. Over."

After a few minutes of taxing, the jet was pulling up to the docks out front of the Emerald Coast hotel and train station from earlier in the day.

"Hey Tails... You're not gonna fit in the dock. What are you going to do about your wings?"

"_This_."

Tails pulled yet another lever, initiating another round of mechanical commotion. On a display screen Sonic noticed an LED image of the jet's fuselage and incremental lines around it. He watched as the lines went from being next to the fuselage to being folded over the top.

"The wings are hinged halfway down so they can fold up over the body. Slick, eh?"

"Very. By the way, what time is it?"

Tails looked down at his very Breitling Co-Pilot Emergency aviators watch and smiled. He held up his wrist and showed that the hands pointed precisely at 7:30 P.M.

"Way past cool, Tails. Way past."

Shortly there after the jet was docked and everybody was filing out onto the pier. Tails was busy putting covers over the engines to keep water from getting in and was checking a few other things to make sure his jet was okay.

"I swear, when this is all over, this is the first thing I'm gonna do is buy one of these for my boutique!" Sonia exclaimed, stepping out onto the dock.

"Why the hell would you need a business jet for a boutique?" Manic asked.

"In case I have clients from far away who want to come visit. Or, I could take my merchandise on tour and go to fashion shows..."

Manic rolled his eyes as his sister ranted on about what things she could do. Finally Tails finished all of his post-flight activities and briefly went back inside the jet, then came back out. A few moments after he stepped off the walkway the door closed and locked by itself. No sooner had it done so when Tails realized they had a problem.

"Uhh... did anybody uhh... make arrangements on how we're gonna get to Club Rouge?"

Every looked at each other and realized that was one thing they'd overlooked.

"I guess we'll have to call for a few cabs to come get us," Chuck suggested.

"Eeeeew! I'm so not riding in a stinky, yucky, dirty taxi!" Sonia complained.

"Well, technically, we can fit four in my car, five if we really try," Manic pointed out.

Suddenly Manic's phone rang. Taking the phone out of his fanny pack Manic looked at his caller I.D. and raised his eyebrows.

"Dude, it's Antoine!"

Nobody had been expecting a call to come from Antoine so they all watched eagerly to see how things went.

"Antoine, how's it going dude?... Well yeah, I know working with Robotnik is no picnic, but you know what I mean... He's letting you go to Rouge's party?... Coolness, so are we... There's just one problem... There's ten of us and we only got four seats, five at the most... Yeah, ten... Well, let's just say we've made some _friends _that want to help us out... Uh-huh... Well, we have a bit of a problem... To many asses and not enough seats... You think you could swing by here in your BMW and pick us up?... Righteous... We're at the Emerald Coast Hotel... Oh good, then you'll be here shortly then... Alright, sounds good... Later dude..."

Manic ended his call and turned to the group.

"Antoine is on his way to the party too. He's gonna help take us to the party. It'll be tight, but I think we'll manage."

"You're, like, kidding right? I'm not doing this squish into a car thing."

"Then you can ride in a front seat, sis. Stop being such a pain in the ass."

"What did you call me!"

"You heard me."

In a huff, Sonia began letting off steam with Julie. That's when Sonic pulled his brother off to the side.

"Manic... doesn't this worry you a little?"

"Now that you mention it, you might be right... I mean, why all of a sudden is Robotnik letting Antoine have a social life? It doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, I know... Uh oh..."

"What is it, dude?"

"Manic... you car has been sitting in that garage all day."

"Yeah?... So?...

"Who's to say it hasn't been tampered with?"

Manic's expression changed from cautious to fear upon this realization.

"It only takes a few minutes to set a bomb... I should know... In my thieving days I set them all the time..."

"Maybe that's what Robotnik wants. He figures Antoine would help take some of us to the party while the rest of us get into you're car. He does something that takes all of us out and ta-da, he's free to do what he wants.."

"I hate to say it dude, but you might be right. And since you think you saw somebody... or something... around here earlier today, who's to say it wasn't one of Robotnik's old SWATbots spying on us to know when to plant a bomb?"

"It's more than possible."

"And even if the cars are safe, who's to say he doesn't strike at the club?"

"At this point, anything is possible."

"Dude... what should we do?..."

"You know I don't say this much, bro... but I have no idea."

Sonic and Manic watched as all of their friends stood huddled together at the entrance to the hotel, eagerly awaiting their ride of luxury to the club. Both of them felt utterly helpless since they didn't know if something bad was about to happen.

"I guess I could always have the valet driver bring my car up instead of me. If nothing happens that's a good sign, I guess."

Sonic nodded. Manic went into the hotel and turned in his valet ticket. A few minutes later a driver came out and parked Manic's black Camaro IROC-Z in front of them.

"So far, so good... I guess..." Sonic said.

"Doesn't mean a thing. With a good enough system he could have a remote detonator a mile away."

"HEY! Here comes Antoine!" Ray squeaked excitedly.

Sure enough Antoine's black 1990 BMW 750iL came around the corner and pulled up to the front of the hotel.

"Bonjour mes amis!" Antoine exclaimed, holding out his arms in an overly-elaborate greeting as he stepped out of the car.

There was an exchange of greetings and friendly comments before everybody starting piling into the limo until only Sonic, Manic, and Antoine remained outside.

"Antoine? Can we talk to you real quick?" Sonic asked.

"Oui, oui. Of course."

Antoine joined the hedgehog brothers, curious as to what they were so eager to talk about.

"What's the deal with Robotnik letting you go to this party, dude?"

The coyote only shrugged.

"You don't know?" Manic asked.

"Robotneek asked eef I had any plans for zee night. I said zat I was eenvited to a partee, but I wasn't goeeng seence my car broke down. Zee next theeng I know Robotneek has Sneevely feex eet een no time and he said I could go to zee partee."

"That seems a little generous for Robotnik, don'tcha think?" Sonic asked.

"Oui, eet eez. Een fact, eet eez a leettle, how you say, supersteecious eef you ask me."

"Suspicious, not superstitious, Ant." Sonic corrected.

"Who eez caring! Zee point eez zat zis eez unlike Robotneek, yes?"

"That's exactly what we were thought. We think he's set up for something bad to happen to us since we're all together," Sonic started.

"Or we think Robotnik is gonna hit us at the club," Manic added.

"I know zat you weell be t'inking zat I am, how you say, loseeng my mind, but... I don't t'ink zat we are een danger from Robotneek."

"Ant... are you saying that..."

"You trust that dude?"

"...Oui..."

Sonic and Manic looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Zee fact remains that Robotneek needs zee cars, one way or zee other. I know zat trusteeng Robotneek eez sometheeng zat nobody should do... but all points conseedered, what other options do we have? As far as I'm concerned, zere eez no other choice."

"Come you guys! Let's get going!" Sonia exclaimed.

As much as they didn't want to, Sonic and Manic accepted that they would have to not only trust Antoine's word, but also Robotnik's.

* * *

_"Come on Sonic, you_ _figjam! Where the hell are you!"_

Such were the thoughts of the driver who sat now on the verge of sleep from boredom. A couple hours had passed and although a few more guests had showed up, there was still no sign of Sonic. Not more than a minute and a half later however, a black BMW followed by a black Camaro pulled up to the club.

"_Finally..._"

It was quite humorous to see how everybody had crammed into the two cars. In Manic's Camaro Sonia sat shot gun while Sonic, Uncle Chuck, and Ray squeezed into the back. But the situation was even tight in Antoine's BMW. Rotor, being the largest, had sat shotgun. Then, by some miracle, Julie-Su, Silver, Cosmo, and Tails all crammed their way into the back. This had only become possible by Cosmo sitting on Tails' lap the whole time while Silver sat sideways in the middle and laid against Julie. Everybody was more than glad to get out of the cars by the time they got to the club, needless to say.

"Let's, like, go have some fun!" Sonia exclaimed.

The clan headed into the club with a bustle of excitement. Sonic Manic, and Antoine, however, held. back.

"Ya know something Sonic, I think we're alright," Manic said quietly.

"I think you might be right, bro."

"May I eenterupt?"

"Sup dude?"

"Sonic... Manic... I know zat I 'aven't exactly earned zee right to ask for a favor, but... I need to ask for one anyzeeway."

"If your worried about us bringing up the job, don't worry. We've already agreed to keep that on the L.D. for tonight," Sonic said.

"Zat eez good, but eet's not what I was goeeng to ask."

"Then what's up, dude?"

Antoine took a deep breath. One look at the coyote's face told Sonic and Manic that their friend was deeply distressed an that this was clearly going to be about something very important.

"Zee reason I came to zis partee eez zat... Bunnie Rabbot eez going to be 'ere..."

"Oh really? Coolness!" Sonic said.

"Oui... eet eez a good theeng... and yet... eet eezn't..."

"Why's that?"

"Well Sonic... you see... Bunnie and I... have been, how you say..."

"In love?"

"Oui... een love... for a long time now..."

"And how is that a problem?"

"I think I know where this is going," Manic interjected.

"Eef you theenk you know, please tell Sonic... I am too ashamed to do eet myself..."

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong Antoine, but you've been keeping the fact that Robotnik has been forcing you to work for him a secret from Bunnie so she wouldn't get worried and do something that might get her in trouble."

"Beembo..." Antoine said, his head hung in shame.

"First off, it's _bingo_ Ant. Second of all, Antoine... What the hell were you thinking?" Sonic asked.

"I love Bunnie more zen you can understand, Sonic... Eef aneething were to happen to her... I would have no deesire to leeve on weeth my life... I just deedn't want anee trouble for her... Zat's all..."

"It's your business to tell her, Ant, not ours. Your request is my command. I won't say anything about it to her."

"Same here, dude."

"Merci..."

"Your welcome. Now, before we head inside, is there anything else we need to get off our backs?" Sonic asked.

"I wanted to tell you guys something. I did something to the list that I think is gonna help us once we get to the job."

"What deed you do?"

"Well, I got to thinking-"

"Normally when you do that things go wrong."

"Whatever, dude. Anyways, I got to thinking and I said to myself... we need some sort of codename system for the cars."

Both Antoine and Sonic cocked their heads, not knowing what he was getting at.

"Think about it. If somebody overhears us or if we need to keep things quiet while in the public, what's going to attract more attention? Mentioning a bunch of things about a car, or an innocent codename? That said, I figured that what we would need is something easy to remember but that you would hear in an everyday conversation.

"Keep going, bro..."

"Yes, continue. Deed you come up weeth sometheeng good?"

"You bet I did. I hopped online and found a bunch of websites that had listed female names and gave each car a name that fit it well. Like, some names sound close to the actual cars, others have a similar set of letters, and still others if the car is linked to a famous person, I named it similar to that. You get the idea."

"Bro, I'm no expert thief, but I have to say that's one hell of a cool idea. In fact, it's way past cool."

"I don't geet zee point."

"Think about it, Antoine. Say you were going to pick up a car and you were talking to somebody next to you, over the phone, whatever. You could say that you're going to go get the car by mentioning it's name, or that you're going to go pick up the car and use a female codename to cover up what you're doing. What's going to attract more attention? "

"Oooooohhhhhh... I geet eet now. Zat _eez_ a good idea."

"Yeah, every now and then I get something right."

"Agreed. Good job, bro."

"Thanks dude."

"Don't mention it."

"Okay then. If there isn't anything else to discuss... shall we?"

The trio made their way into the club where they found everybody was already having a good time. There was the sound of pleasing jazz music playing through a sound system on a stage as some sat gossiping while a few were already dancing.

"Eef you don't mind, I'm going to go join Bunnie."

Antoine wandered off to find who he was looking for. Sonic then noticed that Silver had found Blaze and was dancing with her to "Move Your Body" by Eiffel 65. Blaze seemed to be pretty good on her feet, but Silver was a few steps shy of making a complete and utter fool of himself.

"Awwwww, wook at the cute wittle hedgehog twyin' to dance with his giwl fwiend..." Sonic said sarcastically, nudging his brother who was already snickering at the same thing.

"I see Amy, dude. I'm gonna go join her if you don't mind."

"Why the hell does everybody keep asking if I mind about them having fun? This is a party!"

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Well, since nobody seems to have noticed me yet, I think I'm gonna make a dramatic entrance."

"Have fun."

As Manic made his way over to Amy Sonic discovered an off-to-the-side doorway that led into a hallway to the backstage area. Once there he found a whole plethora of equipment, ranging from musical instruments, lights, speakers, amplifiers, smoke machines, and even a giant disco ball. Then Sonic spotted what he was looking for: The digital music center for the speaker system in the club. Sonic scrolled threw menu's of music on a laptop connected to the system looking for the perfect song to make his entrance. Then his eyes fell on one song: "Supersonic" by Jamiroquai.

With the simple click of a mouse Sonic added the song to be next on the play list. Knowing that the last song was almost over, Sonic quickly hurried back down the hallway and waited by the archway into the main room. Soon enough the current song ended and it was silent for a moment. Then, the dance song Sonic chose started and Sonic made his entrance by showing off his own dance moves, thus making him the center of attention.

Even though a good majority of the people in the room knew Sonic had been there all along, they were still all a little baffled at his little stunt he'd just pulled. But what was even more entertaining was the look on the faces of those who weren't expecting Sonic to be there.

Sonic's signature entrance was followed by a squeal of delight to Sonic's right. "Oh mah stars! Tell me Ah'm not dreamin' this up!"

Sonic turned to see a very familiar face. There before him sitting at the club's bar next to Antoine was a tall golden female rabbit with long hair and bangs of the same color, purple eyelid highlights and mascara, and eyes the same color green as the finest jade in the world. She was also wearing a purple leotard underneath her brown cowgirl jacket. To finish off the look was a matching brown cowgirl hat and brown cowgirl boots.

"Why don't you kiss me to find out if your dreaming, Bunnie."

"With pleasah!"

With little time to react Bunnie leaped up from her stool and practically sucked Sonic's face off her kiss was so forceful. She then embraced Sonic with her well-toned arms in what was supposed to a hug but could have been qualified as an assassination technique. Still, despite the the fact that his trachea was being prevented from functioning normally and his spine was being bent out of shape, Sonic knew all too well how special this was. At one time Bunnie's left arm and shoulder, both legs, and lower torso were all roboticized thanks to Robotnik's demented ways. All that changed however after the war when Uncle Chuck had successfully developed an effective de-roboticizer and used it to reverse Bunnie's condition. Shortly before Sonic left for his leave of absence Bunnie had sworn to never take her body for granted again and would do everything to tone her body to be the best it could be.

"Judging... by your strength... I see you've... kept your promise to... stay in shape!" Sonic gasped.

"You got that right, sugah-hog!" Bunnie said, releasing Sonic. "Ah'm in the best shape of mah life!"

"I can see that. How strong do you think you are?"

"I reckon I could lift a car off the ground if I wanted to!"

_"Oh great..._ _**Please** don't_ _tell me everything tonight is going to remind me about the job_."

"What's the mattah, hon? Y'alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just..."

Not wanting to accidentally let the dark secret slip, Sonic looked desperately for something to change the subject. His search ended when he spotted the guardian of the Sol Emeralds walking toward him.

"I was just looking for Blaze, that's all! And here she is! How ya doing Blaze?"

Bunnie smiled and returned to her seat with Antoine, talking about the fact that Sonic was back. Surprisingly to Sonic, Blaze had barely changed. She'd grown to be roughly the same height as Silver and her ponytail was a bit longer. Other than that, her purple and white attire, pink high-heel shoes, fuzzy-cuffed gloves, and red gem on her forehead were the same.

"Hello, Sonic. It's been a long time."

"That is has Blaze. I hope you're not offended by this, but you haven't changed a bit since I last saw you."

"Hmph... I guess I'm one of those examples of some things that never change."

"Sometimes that's a good thing. Like you and Silver, for example. I hear you two have kept pretty close over the years."

"Well... you can kinda of say that."

"Kinda say that?"

"Let's just say that between Silver's faltering music career and his inability to be less naive, there have been plenty of times I just about told Silver to get a car, hit the road, and never come back."

_"**Not again!**..."_

"Sonic, you're acting a bit strange..."

Twice now in less than a minute Sonic had nearly been busted. Once again he started to look around for a way to get out of this.

"I don't believe it..."

A breath of relief. A breath of relief. Sonic could recognize Mina's angelic voice anywhere. She had the kinda voice that you knew could sing even if you only heard it in a whisper.

"Ah, I see. I'll let you two be," Blaze said, walking away.

"You'd better believe it... Mina."

Of all the people Sonic knew he would be meeting back up with tonight, this was the one he'd probably been looking forward to the most. Looking at her was also a pleasure. She'd grown to just the right height and she'd kept up her slim physique. She'd also kept her long purple hair in top-notch shape and still wore her teal boots, short brown cargo pants, black headband, and black belly shirt. There was, however, one thing he did notice a change in.

"Uhh... Mina... The last time I saw you you had four earrings, three on your left and one on your right... Now, if my count isn't off... You've got about... Mmm... twelve on each?"

"That's... that's right..."

"_Please_ tell me you didn't get that... tongue piercing... you were thinking about getting."

Mina shook her head no. Right about now it was starting to bug Sonic as to why Mina was acting so shy. She stood with her hands behind her back, her knees crossed slightly, and a stand-offish look on her face.

"Mina... are you alright?" Sonic asked lightly wrapping his arms around her, looking deep into her emerald eyes..

"I... I just don't feel comfortable... being with you... Especially after all this time..."

"Let me guess... You feel the crush you had on me at one time led to the event that resulted in me leaving, am I right?"

Mina didn't have to answer. The forlorn look in her eyes told Sonic he'd seen right through her. Looking like she might start crying, Sonic planted a light kiss on her forehead and grinned warmly at her.

"Mina, even before I left you were always apologizing for the little crush you had on me. I've said it before and I'll say it again... _Stop_... _blaming_... _yourself_... What happened was my fault, plain and simple. You had nothing to do with it... okay?"

For the first time Mina smiled a little bit. She even managed a light, friendly peck on Sonic's lips.

"That's better. Now, my sis told me that there was something about you that was going to surprise me. Care to share?"

Mina nodded and the two of them took a seat at the bar to get comfortable.

"Alrighty Mina, surprise me."

"You now how everybody used to call me Songoose?

"Of course."

"Well... I finally got a chance to put that name to good use."

"How so?"

"Well, about a year after you left there was a new competition started called Mobian Idol."

"And that is?..."

"Put simply, it's a program that tries to find the best singer on Mobius each year. What happens is there's auditions all over the world where tens of thousands people try out to get into the first round. From then on they keep going through round after round of singing with new challenges along the way."

"Challenges? As in you have to jump through hoops of fire while singing?"

"No, you dumb-dumb!," Mina said, rolling her eyes and giggling. "What I mean is for a certain round they might make everybody sing a song from a particular genre, year, group, whatever. Anyways, after each round more and more people are voted off by the public until only two remain. Whoever gets more votes at that point is crowned The Mobian Idol for that year."

"Mina... are you saying that you... won?..."

A smile was all that was needed to tell Sonic that she'd won.

"Mina, that's fantastic! I always knew that you'd do well! It was just a matter of time!"

"I know, I could hardly believe it myself. And what's ever more amazing is that I was the first winner ever for the competition."

"SAY _WHAT_!"

"That's right. And what really cool is that after the competition is done there's a big tour that the winner and a handful of the top competitors go on to perform for all the fans. And not to mention the competition helps set up the winner with a record contract to get their career going on the right road."

"In other words... you're a star?"

Once again, only a smile was needed to know the answer.

"Mina, you know I don't get speechless very often but... I'm speechless. I'm sure that by now you must have quite a good record out, huh?"

"Three, actually, with much more on the way."

"Amazing... Tell me, every artist always had that on song that they seem to always be known for. You have one like that yet?"

"Oh goodness, yes. It was one of my songs off my first album. I titled it "Love Thief."

_"Oh no... oh dammit no... And we we're going along so nicely!..." _

Sonic was always known for his cool, calm, collected character. That, however, was not that case now. It was amazing that Sonic's heart was still beating at that point because every muscle in his body had locked up so tight. His breathing had quickened as sweat began to form on his forehead from the constant subtle reminders of the current predicament he was in.

"Sonic... are you okay?"

"Uhh... yeah!... Fine!... Why?..."

"You're breathing like crazy and... and your sweating! Are you ill or something?"

"NO!... I mean, no. I'm just... I can't believe I'm sitting next to a friend-turned-celebrity, that's all!"

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Perfectly fine. I think I just need a glass of water, that's all."

"One glass of water, coming up."

The new voice was a low but very feminine one with a hint of seductiveness. There was only one person in the world that Sonic knew had a voice like that, and it was the very same person who the club was named after. It was no secret that Rouge had always been one for looks and Sonic was about to discover that fact was now more true than ever. Turning around Sonic just about had a nosebleed when he saw Rouge. Her stature, which was easily half a foot taller than Sonic, was perfectly proportioned to her slender frame. Her gorgeous white hair had grown in perfectly and now reached past her shoulders. In addition, she'd let her bangs lengthen let them drape in front of her eyes. And has tradition would have it, Rouge wore her trademark heart-themed body suit, light blue mascara, and pink lipstick.

"DAMN ROUGE, YOU LOOKIN' **_FINE_**!"

Rouge chuckled seductively, a certain twinkle flashing in her eye as she set down a glass of water for Sonic. Sonic was sure his face was about to be leeched off again, but instead he received a platonic kiss on the cheek. For the moment, Sonic had managed to let go of his fears.

"I'll take that for what it's worth," Rouge teased.

"You do that. And by the way, Rouge, this is one bitchin' pad you got here."

"Always happy to hear that. Glad to have you here... _finally_..."

"I know, I know. So tell me, is everybody here that you were expecting?"

"I think so. I think other than the Chaotix I got only one other person who couldn't make it."

"Anybody I know?"

"Just an old friend of mine. She's in town right now but she's... _busy_."

"I won't ask. But I'm surprised the Chaotix aren't here. I woulda thought they'd love to come to something like this. Did you hear from them, by any chance?"

"Vector called earlier, actually. He said he and the crew really wanted to come but had prior engagements. He said something about a possible new lead on some big case he took recently. I'm guessing it probably has something to do with a big car-theft operation I heard about on the news a few nights ago."

Just as Rouge had been saying that Sonic had taken a giant swig of his water. Simultaneously, Manic and Tails had approached the bar. Tails had just beaten Manic in a game of eight ball and the deal was the loser would buy the winner a drink. Even though Tails wasn't old enough to drink alcohol, that still didn't mean Manic was off the hook. Just as Manic had gotten to the bad and opened his mouth to tell Rouge what had happened she'd just finished telling Sonic about Vector's call. As a result, Sonic nearly choked on his water and ended up spitting it out, right into Manic's face.

"Aw, dammit! Shit! What the hell is your problem, dude!"

Sonic, however, couldn't answer. Although he wasn't choking on his drink, he was still gagging from having nearly done so. Not wanting to draw too much attention, Sonic made a dash for the restroom, Manic not far behind. Once in the restroom Manic found his brother hunched over a sink and coughing vigorously, trying to get the residual water out of his throat.

"Nice going out there, dude! Now I've not only lost in a game of pool to Tails and have to buy him a drink, I'm drenched thanks to you tryin to chug down water like a dumbass!"

"Manic... ack... we're... ugh... in trouble..."

"Yeah, no kidding! I hope Rouge doesn't throw us out of here because of your stupidity."

"No no... bro... We might be... in trouble with... you know..."

Suddenly Manic got what his brother was saying and realized that this was serious.

"Rouge was saying that... ack... Sorry... Rouge was saying that Vector and the Chaotix didn't come tonight because they were investigating, and I quote, a possible new lead on a big case he took recently. My guess it that Vector is on this case now and he's trying to find out things about what we're up to."

Manic looked half-sick to his stomach, knowing this wasn't good.

"Manic, think... Did you leave any, **_any_**, trails as to where you might have gone or what you were up to?"

"Other than the cars, hardly anything. Minor tire tracks and a few pieces of gear, that's all."

"Do you have any idea what Vector might be up to?"

"My only guess is that they might be investigating the areas where we stole the cars we did to see if there's a pattern or tell-tale evidence. Or maybe they're investigating possible ways how we got the cars so easily and are trying to trace that back to something that might lead them to us. Hell, they might even have a witness that recognized us and they're telling them right now that they saw a well-known known Freedom Fighter in a stolen car."

"What eez goeeng on in 'ere?" Antoine said, bursting into the room. "Sonic, what eez zee meaning of zis behavior? Everybody zat doesn't know about zis yet eez geetting auspeeceeous out zere!"

"Suspicious, dude. _Suspicious_."

"Who eez caring about my eencorrect speaking! Zee fact eez Sonic eez blowing our cover! Now what eez goeeng on?"

Sonic and Manic knew there were no other options at this point. They had to bring Antoine up to speed, they had to spread the news to the rest of the team, and Sonic had to play off his actions to prevent any further suspicions that something might be going on.

"Manic... you update Antoine on everything from today. Once you're done that you two try to spread the word about our possible problem as quietly as you can. While you're doing that I'll take care of playing off my actions. Got it?"

There was no getting around it now. This night was going to be anything but peaceful and enjoyable. Luckily Sonic was able to playoff his actions really easily by acting shy and pretending that he was just being bashful because he hadn't been with his friends in so long. Once Antoine had been updated he initially accused Sonic of being crazy for his one-night operation idea, but then admitted he saw no other alternative actions. From that point on the trio used the cover of Mina's performance, periods of dancing, rounds of drinks, sessions of gossip, and just about every other possible moment to spread the word to all their other teammates. Some of them, like Tails and Uncle Chuck, took it well and pointed out it could very well be a false alarm. Others, like Silver and Sonia, were a little more concerned. And then there was Ray who basically had a panic attack that they were just barely able to cover up. Although Sonic couldn't fully take the new news off his mind, the fact that everybody else on the team was now on the same page was comforting enough that Sonic could relax a bit. As chance would have it, by about 10:30 P.M. everybody had found their way over to or near the bar. Since Sonic was now old enough to drink alcohol he'd been asked if he wanted a drink. He figured now would be a good time to do that.

"Hey Rouge. I think it's about time for a good strong drink, whaddaya say?"

"I say one glass of the house brew coming up!"

"Cool. What do I owe ya?"

"Normally ten dollars given how small of a supply I have of this. But since it's you, it's on the house."

"Can't argue with that."

Rouge grabbed a clean beer glass and served filled it with a reddish, thick-headed, house-brewed beer.

"Bat blood" she said as she served the drink.

"Huh?"

"That's the name of it."

"Hmph. Hope it tastes better than it sounds."

"Don't worry, it does. People flock to my club for it. Its brewed with several red fruits, mainly blood oranges to give it a citrus taste. Just... are you sure you'll be able to handle this, Sonic? It's strong stuff, twice the normal alcohol content of a normal beer," Rouge warned.

"Considering during the whole war with Robuttnik all we had to drink was semi-pure water at best, I'd like to think I can survive a strong beer."

Rouge only laughed. She made a mixed cocktail for herself when suddenly Sonic came up with an idea.

"Excuse me, everybody! I'd like you all to come and join me in a toast!"

Everybody in the room was served a drink, some alcoholic, and some not so. Once everybody had a glass, Sonic held up his glass.

"Guys and gals... I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for my odd behavior tonight... It's just so weird being back around you guys because you've changed so much... and yet you haven't. It takes a lot to do this to me... but I'm getting a little emotional just being with you guys. We all went through a rough time early in our lives, but we were always there for each other to get through it. Even though I had my reasons for leaving, I will always regret doing that. So, here's to you guys for always being there... for always keeping ourselves together... and for always doing the right thing. I love you guys. Cheers!."

Everybody took a sip of their drink in honor of the toast. Sonic started to take a swig of his own drink. Rouge hadn't been kidding when she said it was a strong beer. It had a very dry, fiery, pale taste, and yet at the same time it had a pleasing citrus aftertaste to it as well. At that moment, despite everything that had happened, Sonic felt like everything was okay. Then, just as soon as he'd started feeling that way, he stopped. His eyes perceived the last thing he'd thought he'd see tonight. Despite looking through his frosty glass and dark-colored beer, Sonic knew full well what he was looking at, and put bluntly, it scared the living hell out of him.

Sonic's muscles failed him he was so shocked. The nearly full beer mug slipped out of Sonic's limp hand and spilled it's content's partially on him and the rest on the floor as it shattered loudly into multiple pieces upon impact. For a moment, everybody looked to Sonic, asking if he was alright. Although it only took a few seconds for all of this to occur, to Sonic it felt like hours. The last thing he'd thought would happen, the last thing he wanted to happen, the one thing he knew would only make this situation more difficult had just happened, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. The reason Sonic had left, the source of a hidden grief, the cause of a great love going bad was now standing in the club.

"Nice speech.. If only it were all true you lying son-of-a-bitch!"

Now everybody shared the same shock as Sonic as they spied the new visitor among them. Somehow Sonic's voice box managed to produce a single word, but only just.

"...Sally?..."

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

- **"Move Your Body"** property of _Eiffel 65, uptown Records, and Universal Records._

- **"Supersonic"** property of _Jamiroquai and Sony Soho Square._


	10. Past and Present

**Author's Notes: **

I would like to inform you why this chapter is so long. I once again combined ideas to keep us moving along, much like I did back on chapter 7. Due to some changes I decided to make I have once again had to delay the revealing of the car list. HOWEVER, to make up for it, I gave you guys a good dose of action in the second half of the chapter that you'll love.

What the first half of this chapter does is tells the story-line I've come up with to use between between Sally and Sonic. Originally I was going to spread these ideas out over the course of the story, but as I said, I have consolidated ideas. Also, to help tell the story between these two better, I devised a flashback sequence based off of an actual scene from one of the Archie Sonic Comic Books. Additionally, I took elements from the Sonic SatAM cartoon, added my own touches, and came up with the content you're about to read. Whether you've heard of all the events and/or aspects you're about to read does not matter. As long as you walk away with the main ideas from this chapter, you'll be fine.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that the amount of violence, course language, and content is more mature in this chapter than previous ones. I don't think it warrants me raising the rating to M, but I could be wrong. If after reading this chapter you think I should raise the rating, please tell me.

* * *

**Chapter 10** - **Night of Trouble - Part 2 - Past and Present  
**

There stood Sally Acorn, Princess of Mobotropolis, a Freedom Fighter veteran, and the most painful of all, Sonic's ex-lover. Earlier Sonic had thought to himself that Rouge looked perfect, but he was wrong. Everything about the twenty-one year female was perfect in every way. Her stature was scaled perfectly with her frame, each curve of her body set at just the right angle. Her long tuft of dark red hair on her head now reached down to her shoulders in the back and in the front formed bangs that were at just the right length. Her light brown fur contrasted the way it should with her beige belly fur, both of which glistened from the lights in the club. And as always, Sally had donned her light blue knee-high boots and sleeveless vest. Also blue were the eyes that Sonic found himself gazing into. They were mesmerizing in their beauty, and yet they seemed to piece into Sonic like ice, freezing him in place. Sonic couldn't believe it. But what he also couldn't believe was that despite being in a totally different city, he still ran into her. Gradually his mind wandered to an event that had been haunting him for quite some time. It had been six years since that night, but it felt like only six days.

* * *

**_(Flashback)_**

It had all started with a single request on what was supposed to be a special night. A crowd of epic proportions had gathered to watch a performance from Mina "The Songoose" Mongoose, which in all respects went better then even Mina could have imagined. The crowd was going wild as the performance had just finished, but it quieted itself quickly. The ruling family of Mobotropolis, Sally Acorn included, had just taken the stage. Since the war was over with Robotnik the throne had been given back to Sally and her family. Sally's parents had announced just minutes ago that they wished to travel the world to visit and help all the other kingdoms to recover after the tyranny of Robotnik. Sally, by declaration of her parents, had been left in charge of the throne to rule over the city.

Sally saw this as the opportunity for her and Sonic to settle down, be together, and do something noble to start their lives together. Therefore, Sally had just announced in front of the whole audience that she'd chosen Sonic to be an honorable associate ruler with her so that they could finally be together. With a grand round of applause, it seemed all was well. There was, however, a problem. Sonic, being heroic and free-spirited, wished to go on a similar trip of his own to see the world and help out wherever he could. Sonic had no choice but to refuse the proposal, an answer that Sally had not expected.

"What do you mean you won't do it?"

"I'm sorry, Sal. But you and I both know the world is in the middle of recovery. I have to help everybody just as much as you have to watch over the people of this kingdom."

"Sonic... you're being irrational! We finally have a chance to be together... and you're going to leave?"

"There are still people out there who need help, Sally. You're here for your people. I have to do what I have to do. I'm sorry."

Sonic turned to leave the stage, not wanting to cause anymore unneeded commotion on such a special night. His efforts were foiled however when Sally grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sonic! Don't you see what I'm asking you to do?"

"I know full what you're asking for. Believe me, the people of Mobotropolis mean the world to me, just as they do to you. But the fact is _all_ the people in this world mean just as much as those here. I have to go and try ho help them any way that I can not only because I want to, but I have to. It's my job, just like your job is to watch over your people here."

Once again, Sonic wanted to leave, but Sally wasn't about to give up.

"I think I'm fully aware of what my job is, Sonic! Apparently you don't seem to realize what _your's_ is!"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh my God, stop being so blind! Do you _really_ think that you're the only one who wants to help the world? Do you think you're the _only_ one who wants to see all people happy, healthy, and living a good life! DO YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALL BY **_YOURSELF_**!"

"Sal, calm down!"

"**NO!** Dammit, what's the matter with you! I know that people other there still need help, but it doesn't always have to be **_you_**, Sonic! Let me help you! Let's help everybody together as a team! Let's do it to it, like we always have!"

Sally was panting from her pleas, but to her dismay, Sonic showed little to no change in his actions. No matter what she said, she couldn't make him see her way. Tears began to flow from her eyes as she took a step closer to the one she loved and cupped the side of his face in her right hand.

"Sonic... We've all missed out on so much in our lives all thanks to Robotnik and the living hell he put us through... Not only that... but... think of how many times we both started to have feelings for others... The times when we were so sure it was over... had gone our separate ways... and tried to be with others... Every time it was the same... We always came back to each other... Every... single... time..."

For a moment, Sally lost her ability to talk. Her head hung down as she whimpered, tears continuing to fall to the floor.

"Sal... You know I love you... And I certainly don't want to hurt you... But you have to understand that-"

"Sonic!... Please... I'm asking you... not as a princess... not as a militia commander... not as an ex-girl friend looking for another chance... but as the one who loves you more than anything to please... _please_... stay with me now..."

Sally raised her head and peered into the cores of Sonic's emerald eyes, trying to link his soul to hers.

"Sonic, I can't keep doing this. I don't want to have my heart broken again. I refuse to live a life like that... If we're going to have a future together, you can't keep running off. So I ask you for the last time... as your lover, your team mate, and your friend... Will you do this for me?... Please, Sonic... please say you will..."

It was clear that Sally had said all that she was going to say. Sonic took a deep breath and prepared to deliver his final word as well.

"Sally... Never in my life did I ever think I'd end up falling in love with such a wonderful woman as you. You have courage, determination, faith, and strength beyond what I thought was possible of a living person. Despite the horrors of our early life, if I had to go through them again, I'd go through them with you every time. I don't think I'll ever be able to truly love another person as I have you. My respect for you is as great as that for the world and all the people in it. It's for that reason that I have to help others. I can never place the life or importance of one person over another, no matter how special or powerful they may be. I must go and help others. That is what I'm meant to do in this life and that's what I must do now. I'm sorry, Sal... But I... can't..."

The silence was deafening after Sonic's speech. It was so touching, and yet so disappointing at the same time. Nobody truly knew how they felt except for two on stage. One was Sonic, who was sorry he had to deny Sally's request, but knew it's what had to be done. The other was Sally. Her head hung down again as tears gushed out. But these tears were different from before. They were tears of betrayal, of defeat, of hatred. Pure, soul-driven, white-hot hatred. Sally let her right hand fall to her side and in her mind told herself to walk away. But a force much more powerful than the mind was in control of Sally now, and without another moment of hesitation, her left hand went flat and rigid, her arm drew back, and with the drive of a heart-broken-for-the-last-time-by-you force, she delivered a painful slap to Sonic's face. The force of the hit made Sonic lose his ability to think straight for a moment, and it was long enough for him to lose his balance, stumble, , trip, and fall. Regaining his composure, Sonic looked up to see Sally crying tears of rage and seething through her teeth as she pointed a stern finger at him as the sounds of surprised voices silence in the crowd.

"**YOU HEARTLESS _BASTARD!_** Of course that's what you'd say! To hell with the fact that the person who loves you must asked you to help them make the world a better place! You just wanna run off and act like everything is okay and that I don't mind you being away! If that's what you want, then that's what you'll get!"

Sally turned and began to walk away. Sonic pulled himself back up and ran after Sally, stopping her from leaving.

"Sally, wait!"

"GET OFF ME!" Sally shrieked, pushing Sonic away. "I can't believe I even tried to ask you to do this! With you and your self-centered attitude, it should have been obvious to me! I should have known all along you'd act selfishly!"

Once again Sally turned to leave. Unseen by her, however, was Sonic's change in facial expression. It was as though the devil himself had come to possess him. What happened next was inevitable.

"**FUCK YOU, SALLY!**"

Gasps of shock radiated through the audience and the brazen response. Even Sally stopped and looked around in shock.

"**HOW _DARE_ YOU CALL ME SELFISH! **After all I've done and sacrificed for this planet, it's people, _and_ you, the thanks I get is being called _selfish_! **THAT'S BULLSHIT, AND YOU KNOW IT!**"

Sally regained the ability to act and she approached Sonic until their faces were a mere inches apart. They both lowered their voices so that only they could hear themselves.

"How dare you talk like that to me. I am the princess of Mobotopolis, and I will _not_ tolerate this type of behavior from anybody."

"And I won't tolerate being called that which I am not."

"You are selfish, and you know it."

"Who's the one being selfish? The one who wants to go and help people because they believe in me, or the person who wants to keep me all for herself and send out others to take care of my job? You tell me."

Sally wanted to answer, but could think of nothing to say, thus proving Sonic's point.

"See? You can't answer, can you? And you know why? It's because I'm right."

"Maybe so... Maybe I am selfish... But you want to know the one thing I am not?"

"What?..."

"In love you you... anymore..."

"...The feeling is mutual..."

Sonic and Sally had both answered so fast they barely even realized what they'd said. Even though nobody in the audience couldn't hear what was being said, they knew what was coming, and they wished it wouldn't.

"I don't ever want to see or hear from you again," Sally said in an apathetic tone.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Sonic answered in the same way.

"Then I guess that pretty much spells it out for the both of us... doesn't it?"

"That it does, Sally... That is does..."

Without another word, the two Mobians turned from each other and exited on opposite sides of the stage as the audience stared in disbelief. That night it was proven the impossible was possible. The love connection between Sonic the Hedgehog and Sally Acorn was no more.

**_(End Flashback)_**

* * *

"...Sally..."

"_Princess_ Sally Acorn to you."

Her matured voice was like a goddess, the right pitch, the right amount of feminine touch, the right tone. But it also contained a note of contempt, which was not a surprise to Sonic in the least.

"Nice to see you again," Sonic said sarcastically."

"The pleasure is all yours, I'm sure."

"Hardly."

"Whatever. I've got some questions and you've got answers."

"Do I?"

"Yes."

Every inch of Sonic's insides were churning, wondering what she meant. Did she somehow find out about what was going on and had come to rat all of them out? Had she already reported them to the Chaotix and they'd sent her to stall them so they couldn't get away? Had she come to probe him for information for showing up to suddenly and suspiciously? About a hundred questions like this ran through his head as she approached him with a look of scorn on her face.

"Alright... shoot."

"Thought it was so simple, didn't you Sonic?"

"What?"

"Don't give me that. You thought you could just stroll into town after six years and do what you've done?"

Sonic had to keep from swallowing hard, fearing he was about to be busted or beaten by Sally.

"Really Sally, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Is that so? That let me spell out what it is that I know. What I know is..."

Now it wasn't only Sonic who felt scared. Everybody was on edge, especially everybody who knew about the criminal job they were a part of.

"You're here... and I'm here... Get the picture now?"

"...No..."

"I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE OR HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN, ASSHOLE! **REMEMBER?**"

Two sensations shot threw Sonic at the same time. One was relief, as Sally clearly didn't know anything about the secret operation. The other was anger. Anger at the fact that even now, after six years, Sally still clung to the events of one night like moss to a stone ledge.

"Yeah, I remember. Seeing you seems to have reminded me of that."

Sally leaned in close and lowered her voice so nobody would hear her or Sonic.

"I always knew you'd come crawling back to me someday. I just knew it."

"Who said that I'm here for you?"

"Don't lie to me, Sonic. Don't you _dare_."

"You ought to know I'm not the lying type. Besides, this isn't your hometown, so I'm allowed to be here, even if you don't want me to."

"I don't believe you."

"You should. I didn't know you were in town too. If I did, you know damn right well I would have avoided you at all costs."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then why _are_ you here? And more importantly, why are you back all of a sudden?"

"Why do you care? If anything, why are _you_ here?"

"I was wondering the same thing. The last I checked you weren't on the guest list," Rouge commented.

Sally ignored Rouge and clenched her right hand hard onto Sonic's shoulder. She held the other one up to his face in a fist as she scowled harshly, baring her teeth slightly.

"Enough bullshit, Sonic. You'd better get to telling me just why the hell you're here or I'll beat the answer out of you... got it?"

It was a stickler question, to say the least. To say that he was back because he wanted to home and wanted to have some good times with his friends would be a flat out lie. But naturally, he also couldn't reveal his true motives, either. Fortunately, during dire times Sonic's mind was able to match the speed of his feet and he was able to come up with a true yet cover-up answer.

"The fact of the matter is that the rest of the people in this room are my friends. And unlike you, they were able to live with the fact that I wanted to go out, see the world, learn what I could from it, and help anybody I could along the way. Just because you and I had our little _event_ doesn't mean that I lose the privilege to see the rest of the people I grew up and fought in the war with. So unless there's something illegal about anything I just said, why don't you do me a favor and take your damn hands off of me... _Princess_..."

Apparently the answer was satisfactory enough for Sally that she lowered her hand from Sonic's face. Her other hand, however, did not release. Instead, it only clamped harder and pulled Sonic off of his stool and onto his feet.

"Aaaaaah! What the hell is your problem, woman!"

"You and me need to talk, Sonic."

"I ain't got anything left to say to you. I think I've said what I have to," Sonic responded, rubbing his shoulder.

"Then that'll make my job all the more easier since I'll be the only one talking."

"Allow me to make your job even easier. You won't have to do any talking because I don't feel like listening to you."

"I don't give a damn what you feel like doing! You and me gotta talk _right here_, _right now!_"

"OH YEAH! YOU WANNA TALK TO ME!"

"YEAH, I DO!"

"FINE! TALK TO THE HAND, BITCH!"

Sonic shoved his palm right in Sally's face, which she immediately swatted away and pushed Sonic into a nearby wall. Sally proceeded to turn around to the bar, grabbed an empty beer bottle, smashed the bottom of it off, and prepared to hurl it right at Sonic. But before she could, another hand grabbed Sally's wrist so hard it caused her nerves to spasm and drop her makeshift weapon. Looking over her shoulder Sally that it was Rouge that had stopped stopped. Yanking her hand away, Sally spun around, glaring at the female bat.

"Back off, Rouge! This is between me and Sonic! It doesn't concern you!"

Keeping a straight but stern face, Rouge put one hand on the bar top and in a single swift move jumped the rest of her body over and in front of Sally.

"I'd like to beg to differ, Princess Bitch! Last I checked this is my mother fucking club and I run it, not you or you're foul-tempered, over-spoiled, royal-pampered ass! More importantly, you're here uninvited! Any other night you're already have been thrown out! So unless you wanna receive a good ass-kicking from a very pissed off bat right here, right now, don't go telling me who does what in my club!"

Though clearly still very angry, Sally backed down so as to not infuriate Rouge any more than she already was. Though it was hard to tell, it appeared Sally was ashamed of what she'd just caused. The club owner then turned her attention to Sonic.

"You're not off the hook either, Sonic! I don't really care how many times you might have helped me in the past, you don't come barging into my club after six years and bring all your past troubles with you! The fact is I have to keep up the reputation of this club as being a decent place to come and have a good time! Of all people, you ought to understand that, Mr. What-about-my-way-past-cool-image!"

Sonic now felt ashamed as well. Wanting to make good on his poor behavior, Sonic approached Rouge and offered his hand.

"You are right, Rouge. This is your place, your rules. I apologize."

With a simple handshake, all was forgiven on Sonic's end. Sally, however, was still standing off.

"Sal..." Sonic said, urging her to apologize.

"I am sorry, Rouge... But you won't have to worry about me because I won't be staying long... now, at least."

"Sally, I don't have a problem with you staying in my club as long as you behave."

"That's just it. So long as _he_ is here, there will always be problems. I know I haven't warranted a favor from you, but I must ask for one anyway before I leave."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Do you have anywhere in this club where one can talk and not be heard by anybody else?"

"Well... without having to go into my own personal residence upstairs, the best place is the refrigerated storage room."

"That's fine."

"Are you sure? It's pretty cold in there so I can keep food and drinks from going bad."

"It's fine. I don't think this is gonna take really long."

Rouge shrugged but did the favor anyway. She grabbed a key from behind the bar and lead both Sonic and Sally to a large metal door that was down a hallway away from the main clubroom. Unlocking the door, Rouge pulled it open and a blast of cold air and frost vapor wafted out of the room.

"I'll leave the door unlocked so you can both get out."

"Thank you," Sally said. "Sonic, in. Now"

"Boy, you sure picked the perfect place to talk, Sal. I reckon this room is as cold as the ice on your heart," sonic said, entering the room.

"Not nearly as cold as my feelings toward you," she retorted. "Oh, and Rouge, give this to Rotor to will you? And tell him to not let Manic screw around with it."

"I thought Manic was the computer genius."

"He is. I don't want him hacking into it."

Sally handed over perhaps her most coveted possession, her mini portable super-computer, which everybody knew as NICOLE. Without another word, Sally entered the storage room, closing the door behind her. Rouge could only shake her head and sigh in disbelief as she walked back to the clubroom. Upon arriving there she was shocked to see everybody was completely silent and looking at her.

"Why doesn't somebody take a picture? It'll last longer! Come on, this is a party! Have fun!"

Seeing that Rouge wasn't about to divulge in what happened, everybody returned to doing something, though they were all thinking about the same thing. Rouge gave Rotor NICOLE, along with Sally's message. Then, returning to the bar, Rouge found Julie-Su waiting for her.

"Need something, Julie?"

"A Bloody Mary would be nice."

With a nod, Rouge set to making Julie's drink, gathering different bottles and garnishes to make it.

"Unbelievable..." Julie said with a sigh.

"Sonic and Sally you mean?"

"Yup."

"You'd think after six years some of the tension might have diminished, huh?"

"I hear ya. I know Sally pretty well and normally she doesn't hold grudges."

"Kinda makes it suspicious that she's held onto it this long."

"That's for sure."

"Ya know... I'd say that there was something deeper about what's going on between her and Sonic."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, think about it. A breakup, while it can be stressful for some, doesn't warrant holding a six-year grudge. If you ask me, I think there's something more to this than what we're seeing."

Rouge finished Julie's drink and served it to her. Taking a sip, Julie raised her eyebrows.

"Good?"

"Very."

"So tell me honestly, you think what I just said makes any sense?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It's none of my business. However... what I do know is you clearly don't know shit about how people feel in a relationship."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I think you heard me quite well."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you're making assumptions. You say that a breakup doesn't warrant a grudge?"

"Oh come on, Julie. You're still not pissed at me about back when I was still after Knuckles, are you?"

"You're damn right I am."

"When are you going to let that go? I haven't done anything like that for years now."

"I'll let go of it the day you stop breathing."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's just my way of showing how much I distrust and dislike you."

"I think you're overreacting a little."

"Let's get one thing straight, bat girl..." Julie said, getting to her feet. "You fucked with the wrong echidna when you tried to break me and Knuckles up. You think I'm just gonna let that go and act like everything is alright? You're either crazy or in some weird-ass state of denial that I've never heard of if you're thinking that. The way I look at it, nothing short of you saving my life at the cost of endangering yourself is the only chance you have at regaining my trust. And even then, it's a slim chance that I'll forgive you if you did that. So unless you're feeling brave and want to save my ass in the near future..."

Julie paused long enough to chug down her drink and slam the glass back down.

"...You'll always be an enemy in my eye."

The pink echidna turned her back and walked back to the rest of the goings-on. Though offended, Rouge shook off Julie's comments. It was something she was all too used to. and at this point in her life, it was irrelevant. Instead, she found her mind drifting to Sonic and Sally, not only because they were inside a room much too cold to be in for a long period of time, but also because she couldn't help but wondered what they were talking about this very moment.

* * *

Inside the cold, dimly storage room Sonic and Sally stood with their arms wrapped around themselves, trying to shelter themselves from the cold.

"For the last time, I'm not cold!" Sally snapped.

"Then why are you shivering so bad?" Sonic asked.

"I'm not."

"Sal, I'm not blind. We're in the middle of summer right now so we have our summer coats of fur. They're not thick or warm enough for these temperatures."

"I'll be fine."

"Well if you want to become a popsicle, be my guest. We've been in here for five minutes now and also you've done is stare at the floor. When you feel like talking, come and get me. If your not frozen solid, that is."

Sonic walked over to the door and put his and on the handle to open it.

"There's something you should know, Sonic..."

"And that is?," Sonic said, opening the door partially.

"What I have to say... is really important."

Though getting very fed up with just sitting around and waiting, Sonic shut the door and took a seat on a wooden beer keg.

"Alright Sal, let's get this settled once and for all."

Sally turned her back to Sonic, appearing like she wasn't going to speak. But just as Sonic was about to complain again, she finally spoke up.

"What happened to us, Sonic?..."

"We broke up and decided we hated each other. Duh!"

"That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant... back when we were together... when we'd have problems... even big ones... we always came clean with each other and worked everything out..."

"Point being?"

"The point is that... back when we had that fight on the stage... I was keeping something from you..."

Sonic's eyebrows raised a little. If there was one thing Sonic did know about Sally, it was that she did not keep things a secret that shouldn't kept so. For the first time since he'd first seen her tonight, he began to feel for her.

"What were you keeping from me?"

"The true motive for why I wanted you to rule by my side..."

Just the way Sally said that made Sonic's spine tingle. He knew something was up. Something serious.

"Sal... are you saying that your announcement about you wanting me to be a co-ruler... was just a disguise for something else?..."

"...Yes..."

"What was it?..."

Sally did not respond, keeping her back towards Sonic.

"Sally, please... what were you really trying to do?"

With a deep breath, Sally accepted it was time to let the truth out.

"Think back to the night wen we defeated Robotnik... what did we do?"

"Well... we destroyed his Doomsday Project."

"After that."

"All life as we know it was spared from destruction.

"After that."

"We went back to Knothole and had a huge celebration for our victory."

"After that."

"Then we went to the lake where the power ring maker was and watched the stars while talking about life after the war."

"After that."

"Well... after that the only other thing we did was..."

Like a hammer striking a stone or a lightning bolt hitting the ground, the truth hit Sonic. The fact was that on the night of the Freedom Fighter's victory, he and Sally had taken their relationship to the most intimate level possible. At the time, the two of them felt like it was the best thing they could do for each other as they were sure they'd be spending a lifetime together. But sonic knew the whole spending life together wasn't the issue at hand. The fact was that they'd both agreed to make love spur of the moment, and that meant only one thing.

"That was when we made love..." Sonic said, almost afraid.

Sonic couldn't sit still anymore. He got to his feet and began fidgiting nervously, much like Ray would.

"And we didn't take any type of protective measures that night... Then that could only mean that the night you asked me to rule with you..."

The light had dawned on Sonic now. Sonic felt sick to his stomach, possibly even a bit faint. No longer able to keep a distance, Sonic approached Sally and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Sally... are you saying I'm... a father?..."

Sally didn't answer. All she did was lean up against a stack of boxes and sigh, letting her bangs cover her eyes.

"Please answer me... Am I a father?"

Sally nudged away from Sonic's hand a took a deep breath.

"You should have been."

Sonic's quills stood up on end from such an ambiguous answer.

"Are you saying... the baby died during gestation or birth?"

"No."

"Then... did you secretly have the baby and put it up for adoption?"

"How the hell could I have kept it a secret? The moment I started getting fat for no reason everybody would have figured it out."

"The all that leaves is... Oh God Sally, please don't tell me you aborted it."

"You know full well I'd never do such a thing."

Now Sonic was utterly confused. He'd thought of every possibility he could and yet none of them were right.

"Then if it wasn't any of that, tell me what happened... _please_..."

"I guess you deserve to know... Do you remember how we defeated Robotnik and the Doomsday Project?"

"Uhh... yeah, the Deep Power Stones. They were those artifacts that when joined together they functioned like a power ring or chaos emerald. The only difference with those was anybody could utilize the power," Sonic said, a bit confused at the topic being brought up.

"That's right. As I'm sure you remember both you _and I_ used them at the same time. Do you remember what I said?"

"Yeah... You said 'So this is what power rings feel like."

"Exactly. That's where all of this ties in. See, though my body is able to maintain some level of outside power, like from a power ring or chaos emerald, I can't hold nearly as much as yours. When we used the Deep Power Stones to take out Robotnik, I forced far more power into my body than it could hold. Luckily, since we we constantly using the energy from the stones to destroy the Doomsday Project, the energy didn't have enough time to build up inside of me, so it kept running through me. That's why afterwards, nothing seemed like it was wrong with me because I didn't have leftover pools of energy pooled up inside of me. But..."

"But what?"

"Some things were still effected because of the overload of energy running through me. One of the first things that happened to me was the egg I had in side of me was neutralized, which was soon after followed by my hormones and reproductive systems going out of control. In fact, my systems were so corrupted that a pregnancy test gave me a false positive. At the time, I didn't know that. What I did know was that if news if that got out and people found out you and I had did what we did we'd both be ruined, so I tired to do what I could to prevent that."

Sonic was in disbelief at what he'd just heard. Never did he imagine that six years ago what seemed like a simple argument was actually a cover-up for a complex life crisis. Though he did feel a slight sense of relief at finding out that there was no child that had to grow up without a father, he still felt incredibly guilty at having not helped Sally through such a hard time.

"There's only one thing I want to know, Sally... Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I would have thought you'd known that answer. But since you don't, I guess I'll have to say it. I was scared. For one of the few times in my life I was scared. But not nearly as scared... as I was after you left."

Once again, Sonic had that sinking feeling in his stomach, as this clearly wasn't over yet.

"What happened?"

"Well, a month or two after you left, the ways I was beginning to feel were getting worse. I had a full examination done and found out my body was basically shutting down because of the stresses the Deep Power Stones had put me through. I was given only a month or two to live. At that point, for the first time ever, I basically gave up and decided whatever was going to happen would happen. For months I laid dying a slow, painful death until finally my parents rounded up a group of the world's finest doctor's educated in the most advanced fields of medicine to treat me. They gave me a ten percent chance of living. How I survived and made a full recovery, I have no idea. I guess it just wasn't my time."

For the first time since they'd entered the room, Sally faced Sonic and looked him right in the eyes.

"Now you see what it is I've had to live with. The way I look at it, either way because I was with you I was destined to suffer. If I hadn't used the Deep Power Stones I'd have gotten pregnant, you'd have run off, and I'd be left humiliated to raise a child without a father. If I did use the stones, which was the case, I went through everything I just told you. Either way, you left me, right when I needed you most. And that, above all else, hurt me the most."

Sonic felt like he would throw up at that moment. Even if they were no longer in love, Sonic never liked to hear about people suffering, something that Sally clearly had done a lot of. Not only that, but the guilt was almost unbearable for the hedgehog to deal with. His whole reason for leaving in the first place was to help people out in the world. He thought by leaving Sally after their breakup he'd be helping her by not being around and reminding her of his presence. How wrong he turned out to be. Like Sally had said, he'd left her right when he needed her. He'd hurt her and let her suffer without even knowing it. There was an urge in him now that could not be ignored anymore. Without permission, Sonic embraced Sally tight in his arms and buried his face into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sally. I'm so so sorry. I promised you, I _swore_ to you, I'd never hurt you... but I have and I'm sorry... I swear on my life I am sorry."

At first, Sally wanted to push away, but in a rare show of emotion, Sonic started to cry. Knowing that Sonic wasn't putting on an act, she gently let her arms warp around Sonic, showing she was willing to put aside their problems for the moment. After a little while the two of them separated, Sonic still crying slightly.

"I don't have anything left to say... So unless you have something to add, I think we should go join the others."

This time Sonic took a deep breath while drying his puffy red eyes.

"I don't think I can say sorry enough times to amend what I've done, but I'm sorry. If you never forgive me, I don't blame you. Just know that I'll always regret hurting you. It'll haunt me for the rest of my life."

In a surprise move, Sally placed one of her hands on Sonic's face. For the first time all night, Sally's eyes had that look of ever-lasting sympathy in them.

"Time will heal all wounds, Sonic. Just look at me. A ten percent chance at living, and I'm still standing strong. In time, we'll both move on now that we're not hiding any more secrets from each other."

"But... what about us?"

".I don't know... in time, I think we'll become friends again."

"Only a friend... Princess Sally Acorn?"

She'd known all along the question was coming. This time it was Sally's turn to initiate a hug, which Sonic gladly returned.

"I've thought about this over and over again, Sonic... but yes... only a friend. The fact is I'm a Princess. I need a companion to rule by my side, not somebody who's constantly running off to play hero... Like you said, we both have our jobs to do and we have to do them. I respect that now... I'm sorry, Sonic. I did love you very much once... but it's over between us."

With that, Sally let go of Sonic and proceeded to the door. Both of them walked through it and into the relief of a much warmer climate. They only shared a brief glance before they started walking very slowly back out the clubroom. Right before they got there, Sonic saw another short hallway leading to a back exit. Sonic turned for that door rather than the clubroom.

"Where are you going, Sonic?"

Sonic paused for a moment with his hand on the door handle, but didn't look back.

"I can't stay here after all that's happened. I just... need to get some air... and be alone for a little while. Tell my brother I'll meet him back at his place..."

Without another word, Sonic proceeded out of the club and into a dark, dirty, smelly alleyway. Never in all his life did Sonic, the world-renowned hero who took down Robotnik, think he was possible committing such a sin against somebody he cared for so dearly. The only thing that might make him feel better now would be if he could get up to speed and go for a good run. Sonic got into a stance and readied to blast off, but he couldn't. He felt like his feet were made of lead and his body was a hundred pounds heavier. Multiple times he tried to kick off and run for it, but to no avail. Finally, Sonic let out a yell of frustration kicked the air around him, then flopped down on a dented beer keg next to a dumpster. Sonic put his hands on his head, letting his fingers thread through his bangs.

Sonic was so angry at himself couldn't help but feel as though he ought to be beaten silly for what he'd done. What was also clear was that if he did do something to try and eliminate some of the stress he was feeling he'd probably end up taking it out in a way he shouldn't. Looking around, Sonic spotted a six-pack box of empty beer bottles. Without a moment's hesitation, Sonic grabbed one and hurled it across the alleyway, smashing it against the opposing wall, its remaining pieces raining down onto the ground. No sooner had he finished that, he threw another, and another, yet another, and still another. Picking up the last bottle, Sonic got ready to hurl it with all his might when out of his peripheral vision he spotted somebody looking at him. For a moment he thought it might be Rouge to tell him to stop being an ass, but he was wrong. Gravely wrong.

"G'day, mate."

The last bottle fell from Sonic's loosened grip and shattered at his feet. Since just about everything else had gone wrong tonight, it was no shock that the current situation had just gone in the same direction. Even so, Sonic was still a bit shocked to see the purple weasel before him solely because this time it wasn't a friend, but a foe. A dangerous one.

"Well well well, Nack the Weasel. Or should I call you... Fang?"

Sure enough, it really was Nack, AKA Fang, the Weasel. Most people would agree all three names were quite appropriate for him. He was a weasel, in both the literal and figurative way. He certainly had a knack at what he did, which was treasure hunting, being a hit man, being a mercenary, and being a woman watcher. Most humorous of all, to Nack's dismay, was his over-sized tooth on his left side, hence the nickname. Along with his trademark tooth, Nack also still had his brown bush hat, brown boots, brown gloves and brown leather belt, which in keeping with the bad luck streak of the night, also had a holster on each side with a loaded revolver in it. Nack's long tail curled up in annoyance, surely due to Sonic's bringing up the weasel's hated nickname.

"Stick to Nack. I don't appreciate being made fun of because of my little defect here."

"_Little_ defect?"

"Don't push your luck, mate. _Don't push your luck_."

Right about now Sonic noticed Nack was carrying some sort of glass bottle in his left hand.

"What's with the bottle?"

"Let's just say this is my traveling loo for my Jeep and it needs to be ditched," Nack informed, throwing the bottle against the wall, it's disgusting contents splattering everywhere.

"That's pretty damn sick, Fang. You know that, right?"

"Loife ain't always pretty, mate. I do what I have to in order to get by, even if it means doing something bad."

"All the more reason for me to hate your guts."

"The feelin' is mutual, Sonic."

"Then I guess there's nothing left to talk about."

Sonic went to run in the opposite direction, hoping to avoid a conflict. But before he could run, Sonic heard Nack draw one of his revolvers and pull the hammer back. Turning around he found himself looking down the barrel of a Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver.

"Leaving so soon, Sonic? You just got back, after all."

"Well, if you insist I stay...," Sonic said, keeping his cool.

"Oh I do. _I do_."

"Well, I ain't got anything better to do, so why not?"

"Good choice, mate. I'm sure the other two blokes with me would love to see you too."

"If they are who I think they are, I'll bet they would."

"Follow me."

Nack instructed Sonic to put his hands behind head and walk slowly. With Nack still pointing his revolver at Sonic's back, the two of them walked out of the alleyway. Sonic had a pretty good idea who the other two "blokes" were, and his suspicions were confirmed when Nack pointed Sonic towards his black Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Two occupants had exited the vehicle upon seeing them approach, both of whom Sonic had had dealings with before. One of them was Bark the Polar Bear. He was a tall, buff, off-white bear with long bangs and hair, white chest fur, brown boots, brown fingerless gloves, a green scarf, and a red winter cap that his ears poked out of. The other was Bean the Duck, better known as Bean the Dynamite due to his fascination and expertise with explosives. He green a yellow bill, red shoes, and a red bandana tied around his neck. Bean had always been one of the shorter people Sonic knew, and to his amazement, still was after all these years.

"Look who found when I was getting rid of the piss bottle," Nack announced.

"I was beginning to think you'd never come outta there!" Bean exclaimed.

"I was beginning to think you might have gained an inch or two since the last time I'd seen you," Sonic said slyly.

"What the hell are you talking about! I am taller!"

"Not as tall as me."

"Well no shit! Can I help it if I was born with the genes to be shorter than the average man?"

"Is that what you tell all the ladies who are disappointed with your performance in bed?"

Suddenly Bean caught onto the fact that Sonic had been playing him and had one. The duck snarled at the blue hedgehog who was grinning smugly.

"Shut up, Sonic, or I'll beat your ass to a pulp," Bark chimed in.

"Yeah, sure! Strength will do ya no good against my speed."

"I've been working out, FY,!" Bark said, showing off his above-average sized arm muscles.

"Impressive, Bark. But not as impressive as your brain."

"Oh yeah? Where do you get off sayin' that?"

"Well, let's see... it's the middle of summer and you're wearing a winter scarf and cap. Need I say more?"

Sonic soon regretted doing what he did because apparently Nack had had enough of the hedgehog's shenanigans. With his left hand, Nack grabbed the back of Sonic's head through his quills and slammed his face down onto the Jeep. The weasel put the barrel of the revolver in his right hand against the side of Sonic's head.

"Ya know something, Sonic, after all these years there's one thing I've forgotten about you."

"What's that? How much I turn you on?"

Nack slammed Sonic's face against the Jeep again, harder this time.

"How much I _fucking_ hate you."

"Same here, Fang."

Not able to hold back anymore, Nack pistol-whipped Sonic in the back of the head and let him fall to the ground, almost knocking him unconscious.

"Alroight, mate. That's it. I was hoping this would go easy, but apparently that ain't happening. You want it your way? Foine. You'll get that. Bark, do me a favor and help Sonic get up."

Bark slammed his fists together while grinning evilly. Sonic, who was still dazed from the blow to his head, was defenseless. With one arm, Bark grabbed Sonic's quills and lifted him clear up off of the ground. Meanwhile, Bean retrieved an item from the back of the Jeep. It looked like black neck collar, but it had a small black box attached to it with two LED lights on it. Flipping a switch on the collar, the green light lit up on it.

"Hey Bark, you know I can't reach that far... how's about bringing Sonic down a bit for me?"

Bark chuckled as he let go of Sonic and let him fall to the ground. Before Sonic could try and squirm away, Bean put the collar around the hedgehog's neck and fastened it tightly. Bean held a small electronic remote in front of Sonic's face. It had a small red button on it, a short extendable antenna, and a toggle switch. Bean flipped the toggle switch and the box on the collar sounded a small beep as the red LED light came on.

"I won't bore you with schematic details Sonic, but basically that collar around your neck has a nice little helping of C4 Plastic Explosive in it. One push of the button on my remote here, and the only thing you'll be good for is acting out the role of The Headless Horseman."

Naturally, Sonic went to take the collar off. Slowly, he tried to stealthily move his hand up to undo the collar.

"I wouldn't touch that collar if I were you, Sonic... It has a built-in sensor to auto-detonate if you take it off while it's armed..."

Bark once again lifted Sonic off the ground by his quills. This time Sonic had recovered enough that he grunted and gasped in pain as his quills were being tugged out of his scalp.

"Bark, restrain our blue friend against that loight pole over there."

Bark Drug Sonic over to one of the parking lot light poles and slammed his back up against it. Then, he pulled the hedgehog's arms back behind the pole and twisted them one over the other. With Bark's strength, it was impossible for Sonic to break free from the binding grip. Mean while, Nack and Bean were approaching. As Nack was walking he had his gloves in his teeth and he was cracking his knuckles.

"Bean, do me a favor. I don't want that thing going off while I'm having fun with Sonic. Disarm it for me, will ya? He ain't going nowhere anyway."

"And even if he did his chances of outrunning the range of the remote are slim, so no worries," Bean said, switching the collar back to standby mode.

"Alroight Sonic, you ready for what I'm gonna give ya?"

"Between you saying you're gonna have fun with me and asking if I'm ready for what you're gonna give me, I'm seriously beginning to question your sexual preference, Fang."

Nack only grinned as he tossed his gloves aside. The time for screwing around had come to an end. With a solid swipe, Nack's punch broadsided Sonic's face.

"How'd ya loike that, mate?"

"It was pretty good, actually. I can see stars a lot better now."

"Oh really? Then let me bring out a few more for you."

Sonic had to endure a baker's dozen of punches, six to various parts of the torso, six to his limbs, and the final one to the face again.

"Enjoyin' the view of the stars, mate?"

"Yeah... In fact, I think they're trying to tell me something..."

"And what would that be?"

"..That you're an asshole," he answered with a slight chuckle.

Another good solid hit to the face made Sonic's nose start to bleed. Though he didn't show it in his face, Sonic was starting to get concerned. Although he was certainly tough and could take a good beating, he couldn't survive like this all night. And judging by the amount of fun Nack was having with what he was doing, this was far from over.

"That's what I was waitin' for," Nack said, referring to the nose bleed.

"I didn't know you went emo, Fang. Been slitting your wrists to enjoy watching blood flows, have ya?"

Nack chuckled at Sonic's seemingly endless arrogant attitude and ability to make light of a serious situation. The weasel threw a well-aimed punch right into Sonic's breastbone. This time, Sonic couldn't help but yelp from having been hit in such a sensitive area. Despite that, Sonic recovered quickly and was able to keep his head up.

"You're amazing, mate. Most other people I've done this to gave up after just a few hits. But you... crikey! You're built loike a brick shit house!"

"Yup, no matter how much shit comes my way I keep standing and beg for more..."

"You want more? Another round of punches coming roight up!"

Nack went back to punching. About three dozen various hits later Nack was beginning to breath heavy. Sonic's face was swollen in an area or two, he had a few bruises on his body, and his nose and lip were bleeding more. Still, despite how bad it looked, Sonic was actually doing pretty good.

"Let me ask you something... How about I... give you some options..." Nack said, panting.

"What's the matter, Fang? You're breathing heavy. Feeling a bit worn out?"

"Shut up... I'll give you foive options."

"Oooo, I like options. Let's hear em."

"Option A... Me and my mates keep beating you until you doie. Option B... I blow your brains out roight now. Option C... We blow your head off with the bomb. Option D... We run you over with my Jeep. Option E... We poison you."

"Hmm... any option that _doesn't _end in killing me?"

"What do you think?"

"I thought you'd say that... Let me think for a second..."

"Nack... what are you doing?" Bean asked.

"What's it look loike I'm doing? It's time to end this!"

"But! You said we weren't gonna kill him! You said we were just gonna beat this shit out of him!"

"Stop being such a wuss, will ya! This is our chance to foinally kill this bastard and do whatever we want!"

"Are you out of your mind, Nack! We can't do it here! Don't you think that if we killed the most famous hero on Earth everybody who even remotely knew him would be after us?"

"I don't give a pig's arse! I want blood _tonoight_!"

"What are you Nack? A freaking vampire?" Sonic asked.

"Do you know how long it's been since I had the chance to kill somebody! I ain't been hoired for an assassination attempt since Mina Mongoose won the first Mobian Idol! If my damn rifle hadn't of jammed I'd have blown that bitch's head off and would have never lost my reputation as a flawless sniper!"

Those words sparked Sonic's mind to life quicker than a lightning strike. Despite his arms being held behind him, Sonic used all of his strength to pull his body up and drop-kick Nack in the chest. Sonic was cursing Nack out as he struggled to get free, but Bark was far too strong for him. Not only that, but Bean threatened to reactivate the bomb collar, causing Sonic to stop any escape attempt. When Nack got back to his feet the only way to describe the look on his face was homicidal. For whatever reason it was, it was clear to Sonic now that Nack's sanity had diminished over the years. Just the look in Nack's eyes spoke of his insanity, the kind that ran into the deepest depths of one's soul. Retribution for Sonic's actions came in the form of Nack head-butting Sonic, kicking him in the groin, and then throwing him to the ground.

"Dammit Nack, knock it off! You've gone too far with this shit!" Bean exclaimed.

"I'll double that," Bark chimed in,

Surprisingly, Nack turned on his teammates and drew both of his revolvers at them.

"You don't loike how I'm running things? Hmm! Then let's see if eoither of you have the balls to stop me! Come on! Let's see just how big your nuts are and troy and stop me! I did not wait and watch for hours on end out here just to walk away!"

Neither of them made a move, which was what Nack expected. Nack turned back to Sonic who was lying on the ground on his side.

"So it _was _you... Of course!Hhow else could you have known I was in town... It was you three saw spying on me earlier today." Sonic said.

"What are you talking about?" Nack asked.

"Earlier today at the Emerald Coast Hotel and Station Square Central Station... I thought somebody was spying on me... I kept seeing someone... or something... watching me in the shadows. It was you guys, wasn't it? Spying on me so you could do this to me. I'm guessing Bark was the one in the parking garage. Bean was probably on the docks since he's a duck and could hide in the water. And Nack... you had to be the one in the train tunnel. You're a sniper after all. You like high vantage points."

Nack cocked an eyebrow at Sonic's story. The weasel looked back at his two teammates.

"Either of you blokes got the sloightest idea as to what the hell he's talking about?"

Both of them shook their heads no. Looking back down at Sonic, Nack began to laugh out loud.

"Crikey, mate! I didn't hit ya that hard, did I? You're talking loike a madman! Me and my my mates were nowhere near where you're talking about today. The only reason we knew you're in town is because I overheard a conversation from that big-mouthed croc. Vector. If there was somebody watching you, it wasn't us mate."

"_Stop... calling... me... mate_... I am _not_ your friend..." Sonic said through clenched teeth.

Nack frowned at Sonic for his return to insults. He was fed up with waiting. His desire to kill could not be held back any longer.

"Enough is enough. Have you chose which option you would loike to die by?"

"Yeah... I have..."

"Good. What's your choice, Sonic?"

"I choose... option F."

"You must really have a problem with your head, Sonic. That wasn't an option."

"It is now. I made it up. It's simple, really."

"Alroight, then let's hear it. What is Option F?"

"It's that you go fuck yourself, you buck-toothed son-of-a-bitch."

A swift kick to the gut silenced Sonic. Nack pointed both his revolvers at Sonic, one at his head and one at his back about where his heart was.

"Been noice knowin' ya, Sonic. But it's toime to doie... Hooroo..."

Sonic closed his eyes tight, waiting for the shots that would end his life. But his ears perceived a different sound. It was the sound of electricity turning off in great quantities, like when a large power outage occurs. Opening his eyes, Sonic found it hard to see anything at all. All of the parking lot lights had suddenly turned off. The only source of light now was from the large neon sign on top of Rouge's club.

"What the! What the hell's going on!" Nack said, looking around rapidly.

"I don't know! Everything just went dark!" Bean said.

"We're not blind ya know!" Bark spat.

The three of them looked around, trying to find out why the parking lot had suddenly went dark. By now Sonic's eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he could see. Looking around, Sonic's eyes came to fall on a familiar sight. It was the same black silhouette that he'd thrice seen earlier in the day. The difference this time was that this time Sonic could tell whatever or whoever was there was watching him intently. The other difference was that this time the enigma didn't just vanish, rather it walked back into the shadows. All of a sudden Sonic figured it out.

"You guys wanna know what's going on? Sonic asked.

"You're damn roight I do!" Nack barked.

"It's coming. It's coming to get you."

Nack had no idea what that meant, but he was not taking any chances. He ordered Bark to get Sonic to his feet and put him in the Jeep, for they were all going to get out of there. Nack was first back to the Jeep, but he discovered the keys were missing.

"Where are my keys?"

"There's no escape, Fang. You're gonna pay."

Nack put Sonic in the driver's seat and then took off the collar bomb and used it to bind Sonic's wrists together through the steering wheel, then flipped on the Jeep's high beams, which illuminated a large area in front of it. The trio then took up a defensive position behind at the Jeep.

"Alroight, whoever or whatever you are! We're gonna blow up the bomb that's keeping the hedgehog toied up! If you don't want that to happen then just drop my keys in the loight! The hedgehog goes free, we leave, and that's a promise! So what do ya say? Are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?"

Inside the Jeep, Sonic was looking around for the figure. He didn't have to look far. Standing balanced on the very same light pole he'd been pummeled upon the figure stood. Sonic watched as the figure held out and arm, the missing keys in it's hand. The figure's spiked head tilted slightly, as if it were asking if it was okay. Sonic nodded and watched as they keys fell into the light. From behind the Jeep, Nack came around from the left. On the other side, Bark came around with his fists raised and Bean came around with a grenade he got from somewhere. They had all been expecting to see and kill whoever had taken the keys, but saw nobody.

Cautiously, the three of them walked up to the keys. Nack retrieved the item from the ground. His face, as well as those of his two friends, were a mixture of confusion, caution, and amazingly, fear. Sonic looked back up. Amazingly, they all hadn't seen the figure hanging right above them. Once again, it looked at Sonic and motioned if it was okay to do something. Sonic nodded and watched as the figure did a somersault jump and landed with a loud slam on the hood of the Jeep. The trio spun around instantly, but they were blinded by the headlights and couldn't see who it was.

"Turn the lights off," said a low, dark, calm voice.

"Sure thing," Sonic said, just managing to flick off the headlights.

It took a moment for the trio's eyes to readjust, but once they did, they all saw the being in front of them.

"Nack... is that who I think it is? Or rather... _what_ I think it is?" Bean asked.

"I sure as hell hope not," Bark added.

"It is, mates... it's him."

The being stepped down off of the hood and onto the ground.

"So... we meet again. I trust you remember my name."

"Oh that I do mate... Or should I say...," Nack paused, taking out his revolvers while Bark held up his fists and Bean his grenade and detonator. "...Shadow the Hedgehog... The Ultimate Loife Form..."

Shadow only crossed his arms and let a slight grin cross his lips. He took comfort in that while the trio of criminals in front of him were trying to be intimidating, the truth was they were the ones that were intimidated.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

_All scenes, sequences, lines, and items borrowed from and/or related to the Archie Sonic Comics and SatAM cartoon are owned by Dic, Archie Comics, and all other respective owners._


	11. Pain

**Author's Notes:**

I just want to say that I'm lucky that I'm not bald after this chapter because I've been pulling my hair out the whole time trying to write it. Personally, I'm not happy with it, save for one or two parts. And I had to make it longer than usual to prevent dragging this scene on for more chapters than it should have.

I also wanted to say that **FINALLY** we are done with the development chapters. The next one is getting back to the main plot line. I'm sorry these chapters took so long. It should not have gone on for this long. Unfortunately, they were necessary to set up everything else.

Lastly, I know one or two of my readers have knowledge of the French language. I bring this up because there is a brief dialog in French later on in this chapter. I used an online translator to get what it was I wanted to say. If it is incorrect I apologize. I didn't take French in high school and therefore have no knowledge of it.

* * *

**Chapter 11** - **Night of Trouble - Part 3 - Pain  
**

There stood Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form, in between three known and wanted criminals, and Sonic the Hedgehog, the world renowned hero and so called 'Fastest Thing Alive.' Seeing that for the moment the criminal trio was going to hold their ground, Shadow turned to face Sonic. By a rough estimation, Sonic could see Shadow was just about the same height as himself. Shadow's quills were longer now and his muscles were a bit more cut as well. In addition, the small patch of white fur on Shadow's chest had grown to cover most of that area, though it wasn't nearly as thick as Silver's. Lastly, Shadow had let his bangs grow in long on his forehead, some of which were red and some black, depending on where they were on his head. And even though he couldn't see them now, Sonic had seen Shadow's signature hover-skate shoes when he'd landed on the Jeep's hood a moment ago.

"Tell me, Sonic... how is it that _"the fastest thing alive"_ managed to get beat up and held for ransom by a maniac so easily?" Shadow asked smugly, turning around.

"Why don't you come unstrap this bomb from my wrists and I'll gladly tell you all about it?"

"I think you're quite capable of handling that yourself."

"Oh gee, thanks a ton, Shadow!" Sonic answered as sarcastically as he could.

"Don't mention it."

"Oy, Shadow! What'cha talking about over there? The next toime you want to make out with Sonic?"

The trio snickered at the joke, but they soon stopped when they saw the look on Shadow's face. Just the way he was frowning and squinting was enough to tell them they were on thin ice.

"You are in no position to get cute, Nack. Not after the trouble you've caused."

"Oh? And what have I done that's so bad?"

"You know you're unwelcome anywhere near here after what you've done."

"The last I checked, me and my mates here haven't been in this club, so whoy aren't we welcome?"

"Don't think I don't know. You tried to kill Mina Mongoose before."

Though Nack kept a straight face, the same wasn't true for those who were flanking either side of him.

"I thought you said nobody knew about that!" Bean whispered.

"They didn't."

"So then how does _he_ know!" Bean whispered back.

"Beats me..."

"Wondering how I know? That's easy. You see, I have the ability to know that people are up to something even if they don't say so."

"What koinda bullshit story is that!"

"I speak the truth."

"Is that so, mate? Been using tarot cards to predict the future, have we?" Nack asked, half stifling a laugh.

"Nah, he uses a ouija board! After all, what better thing for a devil-worshiping emohog to use to predict the future!" Bean added.

Now all three of them were laughing as Shadow stood with his arms crossed. Even though ordinarily Sonic would laugh at such a thing, since he was a bit angry at Shadow for not helping him he put his head down to hide his snickering. All of a sudden it became clear to Sonic why Shadow hadn't helped. The fact was that he had helped. While Shadow had in fact tossed Nack's keys back to him, he'd also left another key behind, just barely visible behind the gas pedal. It was a disarm key for the explosive device. Sonic guessed that while Nack had been beating him up Shadow snatched the key and left it there. But there was still the problem of the bomb around his wrists. Currently it was armed, which meant he he tried to take it off, at the very least he'd lose his hands if he was lucky. There was only one option now. Slowly and carefully to prevent suspicion, Sonic eased his right foot out of his shoe and began to try and reach for the key.

"In addition to your past crimes, you also disposed of a bottle of waste in the alleyway next to this club."

"Crikey, didn't you see the mess that's there already? You really think anybody is going to notice?"

Shadow ignored the question. Meanwhile, Sonic had managed to snatch the key with his toes and just barely bring them up to his lap.

"And lastlym you despicably used a private facility's parking lot to do our dirty work. I'm sorry, but I can not let continue committing such acts."

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, emohog? Last I checked you hated Sonic, so why are you worried about what we did to him?"

Sonic had gotten the keys on his lap and put his shoe back on. Though it was a stretch, he managed to grab the key with his hands. Looking around on the collar bomb, Sonic noticed a small opening on the explosive box the matched the shape of the small key. Very carefully, he inserted the key and twisted. The device let out a small beep and went into disarmed mode. Looking up, Sonic saw Shadow's ear flick, meaning he'd heard it. Luckily, the others hadn't. Sonic unstrapped the bomb and quietly tossed it into the back seat.

"Oy, mate! I asked you a question! Since you've never cared about anything but yourself, why do you care about what we've been up to?"

"I care because there are decent people still living in this world, and I refuse to stand by and watch as people and their dreams are tarnished and destroyed by scum like you."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"Alroight then, mate. If that's how you fell about me... THEN TAKE THIS!"

Nack pointed both of his revolvers at Shadow, but no sooner had he done so the black hedgehog jumped up into the air and teleported. It took the trio a second to find him, but they spotted him standing top the light pole again.

"Come down from there, you coward!"

"I will not fight with the likes of filth such as you. You're not worth the effort."

"Not gonna foight me, huh? Alroight, then I'm coming up!"

One of Nack's only abilities was he could use his tail like a spring to bounce upwards. He had just done so and had planned to shoot him, but was instead met with a mid-air back-spin kick from Shadow that sent Nack flying back down to the ground. With an angry growl, Nack propelled himself up again, this time a little higher. Just as he aimed his pistols however, Shadow teleported and delivered an uppercut to the weasel's gut, sending him down again. But Nack was ready and this time he use all his strength to go as high as he could. But he was no match for Shadow, who had teleported once again.

This time Shadow came from below and rocketed his way into Nack using his hover skates. Delivering punch after punch to Nack, Shadow flew higher into the air until he finally drop-kicked his opponent out of the air. After falling about twenty or so feet, Nack crashed to the ground. Though his spring tail softened the impact, it was still very hard. As Bean and Bark inspected to see if their teammate was okay, Sonic took the liberty of breaking free from the Jeep and performed a spinning tornado move that sent the three of them spiraling up into the air and then back down through the roof of Nack's Jeep.

"Nice moves, Shadow. I'd say you owned his ass," Sonic commented.

Shadow said nothing as he landed back on top of the light pole, surveying the scene. By about now the trio in the back of the Jeep were getting their wits back.

"How... the _hell_... did you-" Bean started

"Escape? It seems Shadow found one of your emergency disarm keys and left if for me in the Jeep."

Though Bean and Bark looked furious, Nack began to laugh, catching all of them, even Shadow, off guard.

"Alroight, Sonic. Obviously tonoight just ain't goin' how I'd planned it... We're leaving."

The trio crawled out of the back of the Jeep and into thier seats.

"Aww, leaving so soon Fang?" Sonic asked sarcastically as Nack stated his vehicle's engine.

"This ain't a fair foight, Sonic. We don't stand a chance against emohog here. And besoides, him being here is taking all the fun out of killing you."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Whatever. Just know this ain't over, not by a moile. We'll see you later, Sonic."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. And tell me something before we leave... How are your lungs feeling?"

"Despite the pounding I took, pretty good. Why?"

Bean made a throwing motion and in the dark Sonic could see something flying towards him. In mid air, the grenade Bean had been holding went off. For a split second, it appeared to be a harmless smoke grenade. That was, until, the cloud of smoke began to make Sonic's lungs feel like they were on fire. The grenade was in fact a tear gas bomb, and it's contents went to work straight away. Sonic's eyes burned and watered as he coughed and wheezed through his aching lungs. As Sonic feel to his knees from the extreme effects of the gas, Sonic heard Nack's jeep start up and drive away. Continuing to gasp, cough, and wheeze, Shadow suddenly teleported right in front of Sonic.

"ACK!... Shadow!... Why didn't you... ACK!... Stop them!" Sonic said in between fits of coughing and wheezing.

"As I said Sonic, I have no wish to fight against such vile beings as them. They are gone and that's all that matters to me."

Shadow got down on one knee so he could look Sonic in the eyes.

"Now tell me Sonic... what are you doing here?"

"I... can't... breathe!..."

With a growl of frustration, Shadow picked Sonic up by his arm and more of less dragged the blue being out of the cloud of gas and dropped him at the entrance of the club.

"Better?"

"ACK!... coughoughcough... Why weren't... you... affected!"

"You already know why."

"Oh right... ACK... Ultimate Life Form... Invincible to things that coughcoughcough... mortals are affected ACK... by..."

"I asked you a question, Sonic. I want an answer.

"Coughcoughcough... Take me... inside!..."

Seeing that out here Sonic wasn't going to be able to speak too well, Shadow reluctantly decided he had to bring the wheezing hedgehog into the club.

* * *

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOT SHIT, YES! HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, MANIC! **HOW DO YOU LIKE ME _NOW!_**"

Manic was frozen in place, staring at the table in disbelief. He was absolutely dumb-struck by the shot Tails had just accomplished. With a heavily bruised ego and a lighter wallet, Manic walked Tails to the bar and bought him yet another drink, non-alcoholic of course, for the fox had just been beaten him for the dozenth time in a game of 8-Ball.

"Don't get too cocky, Tails. You made quite a few mistakes tonight that would have ended up in your ass being owned by professionals."

"We'll find out when I beat you after my drink here."

"I will get you, Tails. Just you watch."

"Maybe. But the one thing I do know is you won't be getting Amy tonight, if you know what I mean," Tails said slyly as he took a sip of his drink.

Manic felt like giving Tails an angry glare and hitting him in the face. But instead, he found himself thinking about Sonic and Sally at the mention of a girl.

"Hey Manic... You alright?"

"I'm just thinking about my brother, dude. It's not like him to just up and leave like he did, ya know?"

"I hear ya. I guess whatever he and..."

Tails muted his voice for a moment as Sally had just walked by. He then continued in a lower tone.

"I guess whatever he and Sally talked about must have been pretty serious."

"For real. I mean, I think I can count on one hand how many times I've seen Sonic act like that."

"I know. But whatever it is that's bothering him, I'm sure he's out running it off right now."

"You're probably right. I bet he'll be back shortly, barring that he doesn't get beat up and held for ransom by a maniac or some shit like that."

"Yeah, well whatever. Come on, let's go and see if I can finally beat your ass."

Unbeknownst to anybody, Shadow and Sonic were approaching the main clubroom. Tails and Manic went about their business, with Manic racking up the balls and Tails chalking up his cue. Finally ready, Tails took his shooting stance and prepared to break. However, just as he went to shoot, Sonic and Shadow rounded the corner. The shock of what he saw was so great Tails' shot sent the cue ball flying right up into the air. By chance, Manic caught the ball in mid flight.

"Oh yeah! You really got a hold of that one, Tails!"

"MANIC LOOK!"

By now everybody was curious as to what was going on, and they quickly found out it was Sonic. A wave of gasps and concerned murmurs began to fill the clubroom at the sight. The only person acting differently was Manic.

"**WHAT THE _HELL!_**" Manic shouted, turning around and spying the same thing as the fox.

Anger had taken a hold of the green hedgehog, for he believed the culprit was Shadow. Without a moment's hesitation, Manic baseball-pitched the cue ball right at Shadow's head. The black hedgehog blocked the projectile with a single swipe of his arm, but Manic wasn't done yet. Manic took his pool cue and held it like a spear as he charged Shadow. Seeing that there was no alternative, Shadow let Sonic fall to the floor and prepared to defend himself. Shadow grabbed the end of Manic's pool cue and forced it up and away from him, then broke it in half with a swipe of his arm. Manic was stunned for a split-second by the move, but he quickly recovered pinned Shadow against the nearest wall.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER!" Manic screamed.

"What makes you think I did anything to him?" Shadow said coolly.

"I swear if you did this do him I'm gonna tie you to the back of my car and drag you're ass halfway around town!"

"Halfway? That's typical of you, Manic... Never giving _anything_ a full effort."

By now Julie had pried Manic away from Shadow, though he continued to struggle to get free. Behind everybody, Rouge came into the clubroom from the basement.

"Alright, what's going on in here? I've had just about enough mischief that I can deal with! This better not be anything stupid because if it is, I'll-"

One look at Sonic told her that this was anything but stupid. Now Sally had just come back from using the restroom.

"I thought I heard some commotion. Is everything alright?"

"Take a look for yourself," Sonic said, managing to get to his feet.

"Oh my God, Sonic! What happened!" Sally exclaimed.

The effects of the tear gas caused Sonic to go into another coughing fit and made his eyes water again. Everybody helped Sonic over to a bar stool and sat him down.

"What's wrong, dude? Why are you coughing?"

"ACK!... coughcough... It's tear gas..."

"What! Where or why did you come into contact with tear gas!" Rotor asked.

"I'll tell ya as soon as somebody... ACK!... makes this shit stop doing what it's doing to me!"

"Hold on a second, Sonic!," Sally said, whipping out here mini super-computer NICOLE. "NICOLE... give me treatments for exposure to teargas!"

"_Accessing, Princess Sally... Treatments for exposure to teargas..." the mini computer said in a female computerized voice._

It took probably about twenty minutes for the treatments to work, but finally Sonic was feeling better. Also, Sonic now had an icepack for the swollen spot on his face and he'd gotten his nose and lip to stop bleeding.

"Phew... That _sucked_. Man, if I never get tear gassed again, it'll be too soon."

"How do you feel, Sonic?" Sally asked.

"It hasn't completely gone away, but it's good enough that I can tell ya what happened now."

"That's good, because I so, like, wanna know who did this too you," Sonia said.

"Well, I went outside to go for a run and then head to Manic's place when I ran into an old friend."

"Let me guess... Shadow?" Manic asked, throwing a glance at the previously mentioned hedgehog.

"Does that name Fang mean anything to you guys?"

Once again, another wave of murmurs and gasps ran through the crowd.

"Are you shoah it was him, sugah?" Bunnie asked.

"Yeah, it was him. He was outside, waiting for me. He forced me to do what he wanted, at gun point I might add. He walked me over to Bark and Bean, who I'm sure you all remember."

"How could we forget?" Julie chimed in.

"Anyway, he marches me over to them and we have a little chit-chat. Next thing I know I'm pinned up against a light pole getting the shit beat out of me. Not only that, but Bean put this collar bomb thing around my neck to keep me from running."

"A b-b-b-b-b-b-bomb!" Ray stuttered.

"Yup. I was starting to wonder what I'd do when all of a sudden all of the lights in the parking lot went out. That's when Shadow showed up."

"I apologize, Rouge. I'm responsible for switching off the lights," Shadow confessed.

"Now at least I know who was screwing around my building's circuit breaker."

"Yeah, well then Shadow holds the three of them off while I found a key Shadow left for me to-"

"I didn't leave any key for you to escape. Whatever you found to get away was luck," Shadow interrupted.

"Whatever... anyway, Shadow and I basically drove them off, but just as they were leaving Bean tossed a tear gas grenade at me. Fast forward until now and that's what happened."

Murmurs spread through the room, this time of relief and disbelief at what happened.

"Don't worry guys, I'm alright. I've taken far worse beatings than this. I'll live."

"I'm just glad you're okay, dude."

"Thanks bro. Oh, and Sally?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks for helping me."

Though it was hard to tell, it looked like Sally might have blushed slightly.

"Just doing what I do best, Sonic."

"Of course. Well, if you guys don't mind, after the ass whoopin' I just took, I'd like to head home and get a little rest."

Sonic went to get up, but Shadow more or less threw him back down.

"Hey, dude! What the hell's your problem!" Manic shouted.

"Sonic isn't going anywhere until I get some answers from him. And if he won't talk, then I'll make him."

"Hiding? What do you mean hiding?" Sonic asked.

"Don't act stupid, Sonic. Remember outside when I said I have the ability to know that people are up to something even if they don't say so?"

"Yeah, and you never said how that is either."

"It's because I pay attention. I don't walk and wander around aimlessly like a lot of people in this world. Everywhere I go and everything I do I'm always observing what's going on."

"Okay... and the point of all this is?..."

"I saw you and your siblings, along with Amy, talking this morning outside of the burger shop... Then I saw you in the parking garage of the hotel and twice at the train station..."

"So it was _you_ that Sonic kept seeing around the hotel and train station!"

"**SILENCE!**"

Manic glared at the black hedgehog, but Shadow was unaffected. Sonic stayed silent, but he had a feeling he knew what he was going to have to do very soon.

"You remember. I know you do. I saw you talking. Even though I couldn't hear what you were saying, just by reading your body language I could tell that there was something going on... And now, in front of all you're friends, you're going to tell me what secret you're keeping."

"...Since when have you cared so much about other people's problems?" Sonic asked in vain.

"I'd prefer you not answer my questions with a question. But if you must know, trouble always seems to follow a few feet behind you, Sonic. Now, after a six years of absence you show up all of a sudden and there's already problems. Something is going on, and you are going to tell me."

Shadow stood with his arms crossed, never taking his eyes from the one he wanted an answer from.

"Sonic... what's going on?" Sally said, stepping forward.

"This is my interrogation, not yours." Shadow snapped, blocking Sally's path.

"Maybe so, but I'm the Princess of Mobotropolis. You might have more strength physically, but I have more power than you overall, so get out of my way._ Now_."

Reluctantly, Shadow stepped back and allowed Sally to approach Sonic. To Sonic's surprise, Sally's eye did not hold the anger he expected them to. Rather, they had that same sympathetic look in them.

"Sonic, please... if there's something going on, I want to know. I came clean with you about us. I think I've earned the right to have you come clean about yourself... If there is anything, that is."

Sonic took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was no avoiding it now.

"There is something going on... Something big..." Sonic said, getting to his feet. "And I'm not the only one who knows what's going on. I know there are a few people in this room right now, myself included, who swore we wouldn't bring this up tonight... but I guess that wasn't meant to be. To make this easier I'd like to ask everybody who has no idea what I'm talking about sit at the bar. The rest of us will stand or sit out here in the clubroom."

Naturally, Sally and Shadow were the first to move to the bar. They were followed by Bunnie and Rouge, then lastly Blaze and Mina. Needless to say, the half dozen Mobians sitting at the bar were quite shocked to see how many of their friends, and in some cases lovers, were in on this secret. But none of them could have expected what they were about to hear next. After telling the story, five out of the six seated at the bar were in disbelief, especially after Sonic passed around the un-codenamed car list from his shoe.

"Manic... what on Earth were you thinking when you took this job! Even back during the height of my thievery days there's no way in hell I would ever have considered taking a job like this!" Rouge said.

"I can tell you why he took it. Clearly trying to make a decent living wasn't good enough for him so he wanted to return to his past ways," Shadow said coldly.

"Hey, that's my brother you're talking about, Shadow. Don't push you're luck."

"I'm not intimidated by your feeble threats, Sonic. In fact, based on everything I've just heard, I'm half tempted to give Team Chaotix a call and tell them I know who they're looking for in that big car theft case they're investigating."

"Who said I was finished?"

"Oh? Is there more to this?"

"Yeah, there is. I left the three most important pieces of information out."

"Do tell, Sonic."

"...Do you want to tell them, or should I?" Sonic said, looking over at this brother.

"You go ahead, dude. You're in charge now."

"Alright... As I said Manic was hired by a big-shot crime syndicator around here, but I didn't tell you who it is."

"Just tell us, sugah-hog. Whoever it is I'm sure we can do something about it so nobody gets into anymore trouble."

"...It's Robuttnik..."

Now, even Shadow looked a bit surprised, though not nearly as much as the others, especially Sally.

"Robotnik?" Mina asked.

"_The_ Robotnik?" Blaze added.

"Who ever would have thought that Robotnik would resurface as a criminal mastermind?" Rouge said.

"It gets worse. Uncle Chuck, tell them what Robuttnik has besides lots of criminal connections."

The elderly hedgehog took a step forward. The effort to say what he was about to say looked like it caused him physical pain.

"Robotnik... the vile scum that he is... has rebuilt the Roboticizer... And he's already nearly roboticized Manic to force Sonic to take the job."

"Which hurt like hell, by the way. It's designed to cause as much pain while turning you into a robot now."

Now the half dozen Mobians at the bar began to grasp that this was a serious situation. In particular, Sally was looking almost physically ill.

"This is far more complicated than what I had anticipated," Shadow said, keeping his calm as always.

"With Robotnik gaining power the way he is, and the Roboticizer at his discretion, there's no knowing what he'd do if he were to start overtaking the city, let alone the world," Rouge commented.

"How... the hell... **could this happen!**" Sally shouted, getting to her feet and pacing about. "This was supposed to be over! NO! I'm wrong! This is my fault! MY FAULT! I could have easily ordered a search party to find Robotnik when he disappeared after the Doomsday Project, BUT _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_! I just assumed he was dead! And _now_ look what's happened! THAT SON-OF-A-BITCH IS AT IT AGAIN!"

Sally finished her rant with a roar of frustration, pulling her hair on her head.

"Sally girl, calm down!" Bunnie said, rushing to Sally's side and trying to calm her down. "Sit down, hon. It's alright... Don't you worry about a thang... just calm down girl... just calm down..."

Bunnie started rubbing Sally's shoulders while hugging her at the same time. Needless to say, everybody was quite shaken by Sally's sudden outpouring of emotion, but nobody could blame her. But there was still one thing Sonic hadn't divulged yet, and it was the very same thing that was swirling about in Shadow's mind that he wanted answered.

"There's just one thing I don't understand, Sonic... there's not clear motive for any of this. Clearly you weren't in town when Manic first attempted this job, which means that the idea of Manic taking the job to prevent Robotnik from rising again is out of the question. Only you would do that."

"You saying that I couldn't do something to save the world?" Manic said threateningly.

"Let me speak... As I said, that motive seems highly unlikely. And clearly, even though a large sum of money was offered, your brother is already rich off of family inheritance and gifts from the various kingdoms around the world. Therefore, the only other thing that could be a possibility is that Manic wanted to take the job for the fun of it."

"You know damn well I haven't done anything bad for years," Manic said coldly.

"Of course I do. So with all the likely motives dismissed... what is the true reason this job was taken in the first place?"

"It's... it's not my place to answer..."

"Not good enough... I'll ask again... what's the motive behind all of this?"

Sonic couldn't help but turn away from he prosecution. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Antoine, who wasn't looking too good. Both of them knew that the final piece of information had to be told.

"Last time, Sonic... what... is... the... motive!"

"Enough, Shadow! There are far more important things to be discussed, like how to get those involved out," Blaze said, glaring at Silver for having kept this a secret from her.

"That's for shoah! Howevah this heah problem stahted doesn't mattah! We just gottah figuah out how to ahvoid it and deal with Robotnik!" Bunnie snapped.

"You're wrong, Bunnie... Eet's my fault zat zis 'as 'appened..."

For a while, there was only silence. Those who were already involved were feeling awful at having to reveal this last gruesome fact. For the others, the last thing they'd expected was for somebody as noble as Antoine to have been the cause of this entire mess.

"What do you mean... this is _your_ fault?" Shadow asked.

"Zee truth eez zat... I 'ave been lying to you... _all_ of you... of where I 'ave been and what I 'ave been doing for zee past couple months...""

"Then enlighten us with the truth," Shadow said calmly.

The tone of Antoine's voice told that the worst was yet to come as he stepped into full view of everybody. The coyote swallowed deeply. The time had come for him to reveal his secret.

"Zee truth eez zat... I never went on zee treep to my 'ome countree I talked about a few months ago... Zee fact eez that... I've been 'ere zee whole time..."

"Sugah... Twan?..." Bunnie said cautiously, slowly getting to her feet. "If you didn't go on your trip... and you were heah... what were you doing?"

Bunnie had slowly made her way over to Antoine and cupped his face in her hands. Without it even being said, it became clear to Sonic that Antoine had failed to mention that he must have developed a relationship with Bunnie.

"Robotneek 'as been holdeeng me capteeve... and forceeng me to work for heem... I'm part of heez crime seendeecate now..."

Though nothing was said, everybody could feel the impact of what Antoine had just admitted radiate through the room. This was especially true for Bunnie, who looked like she would either start having a panic attack.

"Antwahn... please tell me you're joking..." the rabbit pleaded, trying to hold back tears.

"I weesh I was, Bunnie... but I am not..."

"Then... this is all true? Robotnik is really forcin' you to work for him?"

"Oui..."

"And he's holdin' you against you're will?"

"Oui..."

"And... you've been lyin' this whole time about where you've been and what you've been doin'?..."

"Oui..."

For almost half a minute, Bunnie only stared at Antoine. Then, somewhere deep within her soul, something broke and she shoved Antoine away from her, nearly knocking him to the floor.

"You gottah lottah balls to lie to mah face like that!" Bunnie yelled angrily.

"Bunnie, please... try to understand... I deedn't tell you what 'ad 'appened because I deedn't want to hurt you... I feegured zat eef you deedn't know-"

"WELL YOU FIGAHED WRONG, ANTWAHN!" Bunnie screamed, clamping onto Antoine's coat. "What in the high hell were you thinking! AH'M YOU'RE FIANCEE! **REMEMBER!** We're not even married yet and already you're lyin' to me!"

While everybody else knew that Bunnie and Antoine had been engaged for for some time now, nobody had taken the time yet to reveal this fact to Sonic. Therefore, finding out that the two of them were engaged came as quite a shock.

"I deedn't want to do eet, Bunnie! Eef I deed tell you sometheeng bad could 'ave 'appened!"

"Somethang bad did happen! You lied right to mah face!"

"Zat eezn't eemportant right now!"

"Not important? **_NOT IMPORTANT!_**"

"Bunnie, please! Do be getteeng angree weeth me! You are not understandeeng zee circumstances!"

"What circumstances are theah to undahstand! You got your ass in trouble and lied to me about it! It's that simple! So unless theah's somethang else you're hidin' from me, I don't see what theah isn't to undahstand!"

"Zere eez more to zis... but I can't say eet 'ere..."

That was apparently the wrong answer for Bunnie. She marched forward and grabbed Antoine's shoulders so tightly he yelped in pain.

"If you want me to even _think _about keep our relationship ahlive you bettah get to tellin me what you know _right now_..." she threatened as she released Antoine.

"I... I can not... eet's to horreeble to say..." Antoine said quietly, rubbing his shoulders.

"You don't listen to well, do yah Antwahn? Let's see if you can heah this... Ah'm gonnah count down from ten... if you don't ansah me when I finish... Ah'm leavin you... forevah..."

Antoine looked at Bunnie as in disbelief. He could barely believe what he'd just heard.

"Ten!..."

"Please Bunnie! Don't do zis!"

"Nahne!..."

"I can not be sayeeng eet 'ere!"

"Eight!"

Antoine pleaded with Bunnie to stop the countdown, but she heard nothing of it. Finally she reached the conclusion of her counting and she was going to get an answer one way or another.

"ZERO!..."

"I CAN NOT TELL YOU!"

Bunnie had had enough. She actually wrapped her hands around Antoine's throat and pulled him right up to her face.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW, ANTWAHN! TELL ME _NOW!_"

"**MY FATHAIR EEZ DEAD BECAUSE OF ROBOTNEEK!**"

The tables had turned. Nobody, whether they were in on the job or not, had known about this startling fact. This was especially true for Bunnie since she was the closest to Antoine. Upon hearing this new information, any anger or that Bunnie felt melted away and was replaced by sadness, worry, and uncertainty. Releasing the coyote, Antoine stepped before the crowd, trying to keep his head up and tears back.

"A few months ago, back during zee spreengtime, my father and I had planned a treep to our 'omeland of Mercia... I 'ad recentlee proposed to Bunnie at zee time, wheech my father gladly accepteed. Unfortunatlee Bunnie 'ad prior eengagements and would not be able to come weeth us on zee treep. Because of zat my father decided to leave at a sooner date zan we 'ad oreegeenally planned. Both of us couldn't sleep all zat well so we deceeded to be takeeng a walk... Lookeeng back now I weesh I knew what I know now... Zee events of zat night steel 'aunt me..."

* * *

**(FLASHBACK)**

It was a few months ago, towards the end of April and the beginning of May. The moon was shining brightly as a cool spring breeze rustled all of the newly born plants, trees, leaves, and all other forms of life. The temperature was just right and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The night was the perfect type to enjoy a walk on the town, and that's exactly what a father and son were doing. Walking through one of the many beautiful parks in Station Square was Antoine D'Coolette, and next to him was his father, Armand D'Coolette. The father and son were practically split images of each other, both in appearance and in personality. At one time during the war Armand was presumed to be dead, but was later discovered he, along with many other people at the time, had been roboticized by Robotnik. Fortunately, after the war Armand had been deroboticized and reunited with his son. Since then, Antoine had taken full advantage of spending time with and getting to know his father, just as he was doing now.

"Eet eez a beauteeful night, yes?"

"Zat eet eez, my son. Zat eet ezz."

"Eet eez goeeng to be so 'ard for me to sleep tonight weeth zee start of our treep comeeng up tomorrow!"

"Heheheh... I don't blame you. I am eexciteed too."

"I only weesh zat Bunnie could come weeth us..."

"Eet eez a shame, but theenk about eet. She's 'elping Preencess Sally in setteeng up an eevent to promote cleaneeng up zee planet and keepeeng peace between nations."

"Zat eez true. I know zat what she eez doeeng eez important theeng."

"And more importanlee, when we return from our treep eet weell be my pleasure to attend your weddeeng weeth her."

"I know... I can't wait unteel zat day!"

"I'm sure you can't."

The pair continued their walk through the park and eventually made their way back to the city streets and were headed back home to get some rest. Come morning all they would have to do was grab their bags and leave. However, just a few blocks from their home, they noticed some strange activity in a nearby alleyway. Naturally, since both of them had superior fighting skills and were veteran's of the war with Robotnik, they felt compelled to at least quickly see if anything was going on and report it there was any trouble. Upon reaching the narrow alley, Antoine and Armand were met with a grisly sight. A group of five humans dressed and masked in black were carrying dead bodies out of a building and were loading them into the back of a large moving truck in the alleyway. It appeared as though it had been a planned mass murder, possibly to take out a group of people who knew too much or that had done something that required their elimination. Whatever the case, the two of them knew something had to be done.

"What should we be doeeng, fathair?"

"Zis must be reporteed now... Come on... let's geet out of 'ere... We'll report zis to zee police..."

The duo turned to leave, but just before they did, a lone criminal dressed like the rest of them came up from behind them, pointing a 9mm pistol at them. Out of the corner of Antoine's eye he spotted the sixth person and knocked it away the gun with his free arm, causing the shot to miss and ricochet off nearby wall. Then, drawing his sword, Antoine swung the blade as hard as he could, striking the gunman's fingers holding the gun and shearing them off. The killer dropped the gun and howled in pain from the injury as Antoine kicked the criminal away. By now everybody else had been alerted to their presence, resulting in an inevitable clash. The rest of the criminals opened fire with various weapons as Antoine and Armand took cover around the corner of the alleyway. Knowing that swords weren't going to be enough, Armand picked up the dropped weapon and pointed it blindly around the corner, firing off a few shots. Two different cries of pain echoed out of the alleyway as the lucky shots hit two of them in their limbs.

"I'm goeeng een!" Antoine whispered loudly.

"Antoine, wait!"

But it was too late. Antoine dashed around the corner and did a somersaulting jump through the air, catching the attention of the three uninjured gunmen. In the brief moment that they were distracted, Armand fired off another shot, hitting another one of them in the knee. Now that there was less competition, Antoine made his move and got a running start across the alleyway. This drew the last two henchmen out of hiding as they tried to gun down their target. In an incredible display of acrobatics, Antoine did a running kick up the side of the wall, flipped through the air, and dropped kicked one of the remaining two crooks in the chest, knocking him away. Then, before the final man could react, Antoine struck him in the head with the dull side of his sword, stunning but not cutting him. And just like that, it was over. Armand brought the sixth man into the alley and threw him in with the others. The two of them then lined up the criminals with their hands up and faces against the wall.

"Do not be moveeng!" Antoine shouted threateningly. "Eef you make anee sudden movements, I weel be forced to stab you!"

"Good work my son. You have learned well."

"Merci, fathair. Merci beaucoup!"

"Oh you're right about mercy..."

The new voice was somewhat high-pitched, nasally, and almost flemmy. They both tried to turn around, but just as they'd pivoted to face the other direction, they suddenly found themselves thrown to the ground by a heavy net.

"Because that's what you'll be begging for in a very short time..."

After getting over the initial shock, they both looked up to see a short, big-headed man with a long nose dressed in a green uniform holding a tubular weapon that had surely just shot the net.

"Sneevelee!" Anotine said, astonished.

"Keentobor!" Armand finished.

"You're both correct. I'm actually surprised after six years you remember my name."

"What are you doeeng here! Explain yourself!" Armand demanded.

"I don't believe I'm in the position to tell you that information. But if you can wait just one moment, somebody will come along that could perhaps tell you."

"Oh? Eez eet zee toothfairee?" Antoine cracked.

"Far from it..." said a low, dark, almost satanic voice.

Antoine and Armand's hearts skipped several beats upon hearing the voice. It was one they knew all too well. As they both looked up they could see tow red pupils approaching from out of the darkness of they alley.

"Mon dieu... eet can't be.." Armand said, eyes wide.

"Sacrebleu!... Eet's eemposseeble!" Antoine said, his voice shaking uncontrollably.

"Actually, it is possible... _very_ possible..."

To their horror, Robotnik, the most hated man in the world, stepped out of the shadows. For almost a year there had been rumors running about that Robotnik had been sighted and/or that he was trying to rise again. Every time, however, it was either dismissed as being a prank, false alarm, or mistaken identity. But apparently there was some truth to the rumors, because Robotnik had seen to it to break the rules of his exile and had returned to civilized society.

"Antoine and Armand D'Coolette... I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you again, but my hatred for you is preventing me from doing so."

"Zee feeleeng eez mutual..." Armand said through clenched teeth.

"It seems you've happened upon my little operation here. How unfortunate for you. I can't rightly have you running around spreading more rumors about what I'm up to, can I? Snively, my new weapon please."

Snively put the net gun on the ground and retrieved a weapon that had a Tesla-style electric coil on the end of it. Antoine and Armand glanced at each other quickly, fearing their time had come. They both ducked as when they saw Robotnik point the weapon, but they were not the target. Instead, Robotnik targeted the six crooks. With a pull of the trigger, a wave of electric arcs shot out the front of it and into the bodies of the crooks, killing them in mere seconds.

"Congratulations, Snively, we have rid our selves of the six men who failed us, along the judge, lawyers, officers, jury, and for that matter the court case, that they were all connected to. We no longer have to worry about people finding out what we are up to."

"Indeed sir. However... what of the two D'Coolette's?"

Robotnik peered down at their captives, his black and red eyes showing them no sympathy, pity, or mercy.

"Kill them both, Snively. We have no use for them."

"Actually sir... I have to disagree..."

"You do know what happens when somebody disobeys my orders... _don't you?_..." Robotnik said threateningly, standing over his much shorter nephew.

"Y-yes sir... I... I do know..." Snivel stuttered.

"Then make this _very_ good..."

"Yes... Well... um... you see sir... um... Since Antoine... and Armand... are of such a high status in society... if we were ever to need some leverage... for whatever reason... it would be nice to have a nice bargaining chip to use against the opposing force..." Snively said, sweating and speaking nervously.

Robotnik squinted at his partner in crime, as if studying him and the answer he'd just given. To Snively's relief, Robotnik grinned in satisfaction.

"Every now and then I must admit you come through with great ideas, Snively. You are right. That is an asset I would prefer to have."

"Th-thank you sir..." Snively said, taking a breath of relief. "Shall I free them and put them both in our transportation?"

"No. Just take Armand. He's more important."

"But what about his son?"

"Isn't it obvious? Execute him."

Snively saluted Robotnik and went to do as he was told. Since Antoine and Armand were trapped under the net, there wasn't much they could do to resist. Through the net, Snively first restrained their arms behind their backs with electronic binders. Then, while being held at gunpoint by Robotnik with the same electric weapon he'd used earlier, Snively retracted the net back into it's launcher. Robotnik wasted no time picking Armand up by the scruff of his neck with his robotic left arm, causing the father coyote intense pain.

"You know something, Armand... It seems you and I were always meant to be on the same team. After all, I roboticized you in the war, and now I'm holding you captive... How strange fate can be."

Armand growled at Robotnik. He so wanted to kill him now for everything he'd done, but he put that aside upon hearing the concerned cries his son. Snively had re-binded Antoine to a drain pipe on the side of the alleyway, preventing him from getting away.

"Shall I execute him now, sir?"

"On second thought, Snively... I have a better idea. Bind Armand's feet, if you would be so kind."

Robotnik never loosened his grip on Armand as the lackey did as he was ordered. Then, in the most surprise move ever, Robotnik held the electric gun in front of his prisoner with his flesh arm.

"I know you and your son are close... therefore, I'm offering you the opportunity to kill him. I think it would be a bit more polite if you did it your way rather than mine, wouldn't you say?"

Antoine looked at the situation in front of him in disbelief. Not only did what Robotnik say seem beyond explanation, but his father's action were even more so. Armand actually took the weapon and pointed it at his son. His father's eyes had the most forlorn look he'd ever seen.

"Antoine... Je suis désolé... s'il vous plaît me pardonner... dans le temps vous comprendrez pourquoi j'ai fait ceci... Au revoir mon fils... Je vous aime... Bonne chance... et Dieu bénit..."

Robotnik and Snively, both of whom could not speak a word of French, had no idea what Armand had just told his son. Antoine, on the other hand, understood it all. A moment ago Antoine thought his father was going to kill him to prevent a life of hell. But he'd been wrong. Glancing down, Antoine noticed his father was standing in a puddle of water from the drainpipe he was attached to. Robotnik wasn't quite standing in it, but he was still close. Plus, he was still holding Armand with his metallic arm. Instantly Antoine was horror struck. His mind had put it all together.

Armand pointed the weapon straight down at the puddle just as Antoine pulled his feet off the ground and balanced them precariously on a small dent in the wall behind him, slamming his eyes shut as he did. Apparently Snively could tell what was about to happen to and jumped onto the tire of the truck hauling all the bodies and held on. Before Robotnik could react or let go, Armand pulled the trigger. There alleyway was instantly filled with deafening electric arcing and buzzing as who knows how much power surged from the weapon into the water and into Armand's body. And since Robotnik had been holding on, the electricity ran through his arms into him as well. Armand was receiving the full force of the weapon and was unable to react in any way. His body only spasmed and jolted as smoke rose and his fur and clothes were singed by the ferocity of the electric current. Robotnik, by some miracle, was actually able to speak as the current was causing damage to him as well.

**"****GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! SNIVELYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! DO SOMETHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"**

With his eyes shut, Snively felt around his tool belt. After a moment or two he found a small remote with a button on it. Pushing the button, it turned out it was an emergency shut-down switch that disabled the weapon. After a brief powering-down sound from the weapon, it fell to the ground with a metallic clank. Then, there were two thuds of the victims falling to the ground, one louder than the other. Knowing that it was over, both Snively and Antoine let themselves down to the ground, but the latter being did not dare open his eyes. He knew all too well the sight before him was probably too gruesome to bare.

"Dr. Robotnik! Are you alright!" the lackey yelled, rushing to his boss's side.

With a deep groan, Robotnik looked up at his nephew in contempt. Despite having just been electrocuted, Robotnik sprang to his feet, grabbing Snviely by the neck with his robotic arm. Robotnik began to slowly tighten his grip around Snively's neck and throat, cutting off his air canal.

"I really ought to kill you right now, Snively... Not only did you not prevent a situation that should have killed me... but you lost me my bargaining chip... YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING IMBECILE!"

"Sir... please... don't!"

"Give me one reason... give me one _damn _good reason... why I should..." Robotnik growled, his red eyes searing with anger.

"Because... I'm... your... nephew!... And... I'm the only... other person... you trust!..."

Snivley ended his sentence as his face started to change color and his eyes began to roll into his head. With a howl of frustration, Robotnik hurled Snively across the alleyway right into Antione. The impact broke the drain pipe and both of them fell to the ground. As Snivley gasped for air, Antoine got up the courage to open his eyes. No sooner had he done so that he regretted the move. His eyes fell upon his father's body, laying singed and smoking slightly in a dirty puddle in the middle of the alley. Reality set in without him having to even think about it. His father was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to keep him alive. Tears streamed from Antoine's eyes as he stumbled over to his father's body and laid himself upon it. He desperately wanted to wrap his arms around his father, but was unable to do so from the binders on his wrists. The coyote howled and weaped as the grief and sadness overtook his soul.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! Mon dieu, no! Zis can't be happeneengs! EET CAN'T BE TRUE! Oh fathair... _FATHAIR!_..."

Antoine lost the ability to speak as he continued to weep. Off in the distance, the sounds of poice sirens began to echo thoughout the city. Robotnik signaled to a still wheezing Snively that it was time to get out of there. They both began to load the rest of their victims into the pack of the truck and clean up whatever evidence was lying around with various devices and implements. All that was left was Antoine and his deceased father. As Robotnik and Snively approached them, Antoine looked up, tears pouring from his puffy red eyes. The criminal duo looked back with nothing but apathy.

"Snivley... get Antoine to his feet..."

The lackey tried to pick Antoine up easily, but he resisted, wanting to stay with his father. Snively resorted to brute force and lifted the cootye to his feet. Robotnik knelt down on one knee so he could be face to face with his new bargaining chip.

"I don't say things like this very often, so you'd better pay attention... You are very lucky... you have, or should I say had, a very brave father... stupid, but brave..."

Antoine bared his teeth at the comment of his father's inteligence, but he kept his ground.

"I want you to know that I really do hate you... Not as much as that blue rodent that ruined my attempt to take over the world, but still quite a lot... In fact, there's only one thing I do like about you... you know what that is?"

Antoine did not answer. He only seethed deeply through his teeth, which Robotnik had expected.

"It's your cowardice. You try to act brave by showing off your silly little fighting moves, but under that flase facade you're nothing but a weak, gullible, idiotic coward. In the face of true danger you kneel and beg for mercy and you know it. Although I would much rather have had your father to use for my benefit due to his status in society, you still have some value. You are the last remaing D'Coolette. The only surviving offspring. It's for that reason I'm giving you this option. If you come and work for me, do what I say, respect me and all who work for me, and do not fail me, I will let you live for the time being. I will give you one minute to think about my offer."

Snively kept a firm hold on Antoine as Robotnik went and looked gleefully as the mass of victims in the back of thier excape truck. Inside Antoine, white hot rage burned at every inch of him. The same two beings that had one taken his father from him and just done so again, this time permanently. For perhaps the first ime in his life Antoine felt as though he could commit murder and not feel guilty about it.

"Time's up Antoine D'Coolette. What is your decision?"

Looking down at his father, Antoine realized that this was not the time for feelin in such a way. His father had sacrificed himself in the hopes that he might be left to live. These thoughts extinguished the way he felt as Antoine lowered his head and closed his eyes. His father's last words kept playing over and over through his head. He didn't want to do it, but to honor his father, Antoine knew what he had to do.

"Oui..."

"What was that?"

"Oui..."

"Look at me, Antoine..."

From the depths of his soul, Antoine found the courage to look up into the soulless eyes gazing down upon him.

"When you answer me, you will refer to me by either my name of sir. You also will speak loud enough for me ot hear you, and you will look at me when you answer. Now, for that last time, what did you say?"

"...Yes, Dr. Robotneek... I will work for you, sir..."

"A very wise choice," Robotnik said,exposing his dispicable grin. "You will begin your work in the near future. But for now, you'll sit this job out. We've already had neough trouble with it. Snively, if you would please."

Snivley drew an injection gun from his toolbelt filled with liquid sedative that he injected into Antoine's arm. For a few seconds, Antoine grimmaced in pain. Then, very slowly, the world began to get dark, his head flet heavy, his limbs weak, and all was geting very quiet. With his last strength, Antoine got one last look at his father. Then, all was dark.

**(END FLASHBACK)**

* * *

The clubroom was dead silent, save for a few sniffles from a few in attendance and the sound of Antoine whimpering. Even Shadow, the strong-willed, anger-driven, practically emotionless being that he was had his eyes shut and rested his head in his hand. Nobody had been expecting to hear such a gruesome tale, nor had they wanted to.

"Everee day I theenk about zat night... and everee day my fathair's words run through my head... Everee day those words he spoke to me just before he took his life are replayed over and over..._ Antoine... I'm sorree... please forgeeve me... Een time you weell understand why I deed zis... I love you, my son... Take care of yourself... Good luck... and God bless..._ Zey never leave me alone... never..."

Any contempt Bunnie felt towards Antoine had vanished. She had embraced Antoine tightly as he cried harder. Apparently others in the room were feeling the same way. Blaze had seemed to put aside her anger as she'd taken up being with Silver. Even Sally had sided with Sonic, but she still kept her distance. As for Sonic, he couldn't take it anymore. Getting to his feet, Sonic headed for the club's exit, a motion that did not go unnoticed.

"Dude?" Manic asked.

Sonic stopped, but he did not turn around fully. He only looked over his shoulder.

"I know that we've all been through a lot tonight... too much, in fact... But even so we're all on the same apge now... Antoine, I hate to do this, but I have to say it... The fact is we're in deep with this... all of us... whether we wan to be or not... That being said, I present the same offer we have been all day... We need as much help as we can get... but we're not forcing you to do so and we won't make you stay if you do want to help... That's a guarentee... And if any of you can think of somebody who's worthy enough to guard the Master Emerald, let us know, for Knuckles has expressed interest in helping us too... If none of you have interest join us now I do not blame you... but I suggest you sleep on it... This is anything but an easy decision..."

At that moment Sonic made eye contact with Sally. Her gaze was far beyond comprehension, not to mention impossible to stay with. Therefore, Sonic broke it and continued to the exit.

"I'll see you at your place later, bro... I gotta... go..."

That was all Sonic said as he left the club and made it outside. Fortunately by now the tear gas from earlier had fully disappated and the air was breathable again. Sonic took the deepest breath he could, trying to let as much stress out as he could. This day had proved to be one of the worst that Sonic had ever had. If he had any hopes of feeling better at all, it would come from a solid run. Somehow, Sonic found the ability to move his feet and he blasted off at full speed, dashing around the now empty streets until he finally found an open highway. In no time at all he'd left the city and was headed towards the sububrbs and countryside. Though it felt good to run, Sonic knew that it was only a temporary cure. This night of trouble was only a precursor to what was coming in the next two days.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I hope you didn't have too hard a time reading Antoine and Bunnie's dialog due to their accents.

At this time I really need to ask something. Based upon what you've read so far, and with the knowledge that I will be including further violent or graphic scenes in the future, I need to know if you think I should bump up the rating to **"M"** to be safe.

Lastly, since the second and third parts of the "Night of Trouble" chapters have had flashback sequences, I've added a very brief flashback to part 1 between Tails and Sonic. It's not much, but you can read it if you would like to.

Your reviews, input, criticism, and answers are truly what keep me going. I will be eagerly awaiting the reviews for this chapter and any information and/or answers you can provide me with. Thanks for your help and appreciation.


	12. The List

**Author's Notes**:

I'd like to say that at this point things are gonna start picking up and moving a lot faster. That is the case with this chapter, as you'll find that it moves rather quickly. It's also a shorter than the others, however this one is still a bit on the long side.

And at long last, for those who I have leaked bits of into to, and those who are just curious, I've finally revealed the car list. It is at the very end of the chapter. I've reached a point where I thought it was good to reveal it, not to mention I'm tired of driving myself crazy in improving or making changes to it. Enough is enough.

Also, I'm most likely going to up the rating to M in the very near future, but it won't be done at least until after the next chapter so I can warn you when it's going to happen.

* * *

**Chapter 12 **- The List

"Breakfast is ready!"

It was a little before 6:00 A.M. in a quaint suburban home outside of Station Square. Currently, Vanilla, an adult tan and dark brown, loppy-eared rabbit with a long pink nightgown, had just set the dining room table with a smorgasbord of steaming hot breakfast foods and various condiments. From another archway, Vector Crocodile, Vanilla's husband, strolled into the room.

"Did somebody say food?" he joked.

"Yes I did, honey."

"Not that she'd have to. With that big snout of yours you could smell a crumb a mile away."

Vector looked over at his step-daughter, Cream, seated at the table already. She too was loppy-eared rabbit, a split image of her mother to be precise, wearing pink p.j.'s. Sitting on her shoulder was Cheese, her blue and yellow pet chao.

"Yeah, well with those big ears of yours you could hear a candy wrapper from a mile away!" Vector teased.

"Oh be quiet!" Cream giggled.

"Laughing now, huh? Well let's see if we can get you to laugh some more!"

Vector picked Cream up in his arms and began twirling her about at a high speed and sure enough, Cream laughed ecstatically. Vector, however, couldn't keep it up too long. Since Cream was twelve now she'd grown quite a bit and was naturally a lot heavier. Finally Vector's arms gave out and he had to put her down.

"I swear, Vanilla. Every time I pick that girl up she's getting heavier!"

"Well, she's growing up into a healthy, strong, beautiful daughter. She can't stay a little girl forever."

"I know. They grow up so fast, don't they?"

"Oh stop talking like an old man, daddy. Sit down and let's eat!"

Vector playfully stuck his tongue out at Cream, a gesture that was returned by both the little girl and her chao. After the family had filled their plates with their favorite foods and ate for a while, Vanilla decided to start up a nice morning conversation.

"You came home very late last night, Vector. Was everything alright?"

"Well... yes and no. Yes as in there was nothing seriously wrong, and no in that we've hit another dead end."

"Oh no! What happened, daddy?"

"Well, long story short, we got a lead that somebody saw a lot of cars being brought to one location. We investigated it, but found out it wasn't related to the case."

"So what was it, then?" Vanilla asked.

"Turns out it was just another uber-rich businessman who's starting his own auto collection. The owner showed us proof he owned them and that they were purchased legally, which we then confirmed through computer records."

"I'm sorry to hear that, dear. I know you've been working so hard on this case with all of your partners to find something to go on."

"That really is the strangest thing. Never in all the cases I've taken has the evidence been so hard to find or connect to those responsible. Whoever did this really knew what they were doing and made sure to cover their ass."

"Vector! Watch your language!"

"Chao chao!"

"Sorry... Forgive me. Cover their _tracks_. And the little bits of evidence we do have aren't much to go on. At this rate autumn will come before we get a strong lead."

"Don't worry, daddy. You'll find something helpful and catch the bad guys!

"Speaking of finding something you will never guess who I ran into yesterday."

"I'm guessing that it's somebody you haven't seen in a while," Vanilla commented.

"Heh, you got that right."

"Who was it, daddy?"

"Does 'The Fastest Thing Alive' ring a bell?"

Their was amazement all around the table, especially from Cream and her chao.

"Sonic the hedgehog?" Vanilla asked.

"Is he really back, daddy!"

"Chao chao!"

"I wouldn't lie. It was by pure luck I saw him, too. Me and my partners were gonna grab a bite to eat when we saw him in the back of his brother's car."

"My goodness! It's been... six years since we last heard from Sonic. How is he doing?" Vanilla said.

"As far as I can tell, good. I didn't spend too much time with him because he had to catch a train with his siblings. I'm guessing they were going out to see Tails."

"So you didn't really get to catch up with him?"

"I did a little bit. We had a few quick laughs and I caught him up on the big things with me. I did manage to give him my business card before I left so we could meet up again."

"Can I go with you when you see him, daddy! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase!"

"Heheh... Looks like I don't have a choice then, do I? Well, I'll see what I can do. Since he did just get back I'm sure he's doing all sorts of fun things with everybody he knows, especially his brother and sister."

"Did you hear that, Cheese! We're gonna go see Sonic soon!"

"CHAO!"

After breakfast was finished and the dishes were washed, an hour passed as the family got ready for the day. Vector was getting ready to go to work while Vanilla and Cream were getting ready for a day trip in the distant countryside and mountains.

"It's such a shame that this case came up now. The country is so beautiful this time during the summer."

"I know, dear. I'm sorry I can't go with you. But it's like I've always said, somebody has to do this job."

"I know, Vector. And you do a good job of it."

"Why thank you," Vector said, kissing Vanilla's cheek. "I'm sure that we'll find something to go on today so we can work towards putting whoever's responsible... in jail."

"Are you alright? You sound troubled."

"I am... Vanilla, let me ask you something. Have you been hearing on the news or from your friends the rumors that... Robotnik could possibly be up to no good again?"

Vanilla looked frightened, in fact down right terrified. Not wanting to have Cream overhear what they were talking about, Vanilla shut the door to the bedroom.

"Yes, I have heard the stories. But they're just rumors... aren't they?"

"Of course. The fact is nobody has seen if it truly is Robotnik, or not. And you have to remember, ever since he was banished to begin with there's been rumors, possible spottings, and even prank identities about him."

"But it can't be ruled out... can it?"

"Well of course not. But it's like I said, this has happened before and it was all a big hoax. And besides, you know if things get to hairy I never hesitate to call for help. If things start getting too deep on this case, I'll turn it over to somebody who can handle it. Don't worry, Vanilla. Everything is gonna be alright."

"I hope so."

"It will."

Vanilla and Vector enjoyed a warm embrace which was quickly interrupted by Cream and Cheese bursting in through the bedroom door.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know anybody was still in here!"

"It's okay, sweetie. Daddy and I were just talking about a few things. I'm ready to go if you are."

"You bet I am! Cheese too!"

"CHAO!"

"And on that note, I'd better get going too so I can pick up my partners. Have a good time today and I'll see you two later tonight."

"Have a good day, Vector."

"Good luck, daddy!"

Vector smiled as he left the room and made his way to the garage. Inside, among everything you'd normally find in a garage, sat the family's brand new black Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum. Vector always smirked a little looking at the huge SUV because it was such a radical vehicle that his wife had agreed to use as a family car. To this day Vector swore she did it just because she knew he didn't like slow, boring, everyday cars. Next to that, of course, was Vector's prized personal squad car, his black BMW M5. Climbing into the driver's seat, Vector went to start the ignition, but his thoughts drifted back to what Vanilla had said.

"_Robotnik... I know it's highly unlikely... but what if it is him? After all, the rumors seem to be more widespread and believable this time. Still... Robontik stealing cars? That's not like him. He's all about world domination and absolute power, not larceny and crime syndication."_

Vector smirked and shrugged it off. Without any more hesitation, Vector fired up his vehicle and opened the garage door via remote. Pulling out into the driveway he shut the garage door and pulled off down the street

"In this business, I can't assume anything. I can only go by the facts. And today I'm gonna get those facts. So look out, whoever you are that did this, because Team Chaotix is comin' to get ya."

* * *

Back in Station Square about four hours later, Manic slowly began to stir out of a deep slumber. Opening his eyes, Manic reached over for his digital wristwatch on a nightstand next to the bed and checked the time.

"Dammit..." Manic said with an angry sigh, slamming the watch back down.

"Mmmmmm... Manic?"

A pink, furry hand traced it's way up Manic's pectorals to his shoulder and pulled him back down. Glancing over, Amy lay awake, her eyes just starting to open.

"Yeah?"

"Why were you angry a second ago?"

"Didn't want to sleep this late. You know we've got an ass-load of work today finding all these cars."

"I know... But maybe you'll get a little extra help today."

"That would be nice, but at the same time it would suck. I never wanted this many people to get sucked into all of this."

"Well, that's just the kind of friends you have. Always there for you. Speaking of which, where is Sonic? Did you ever hear him come in?"

"I don't know, but I don't think so."

"That's not like him to do that."

"I don't blame him for not coming back right away. Dude's got a helluva lot on his mind right now."

"I just hope he comes back to help."

"He will. He's not gonna ditch us now."

"You know something, Manic... you're really lucky to have Sonic as your brother. Even though we we're never an official couple, the little bit we did share showed me how great a being Sonic is."

"I know. And ya know what? I'm glad you didn't end up with Sonic... because I love you so much."

"I'm glad you think so. Oh, and for the record... you were _amazing_ last night."

Manic couldn't help but blush a little at his girlfriend's comment. He rolled over and lay against his true love, lovingly stroking her back and kissing her on the forehead.

"Can I have that on a scale from one to ten?"

"Nine and a half."

"Nine and a _half_? Where'd I go wrong to miss out on a perfect score?"

"Why don't you... _find out for yourself_." she responded seductively.

It was a tempting offer that Manic had full intention to capitalize on, but no sooner had he pulled the covers over them both and started kissing Amy, a loud pounding rattled the front door, and most of the shoddy house for that matter.

"**YO MANIC! ARE YOU UP YET!**" Sonic bellowed from the front door.

Manic growled at the interruption, but he knew there was no avoiding it now. Getting up from bed, Manic let his brother in.

"Damn, Manic! The hell happened to you? You make out with a St. Bernard?"

"Fuck you, dude. This is what happens when you interrupt making love with your woman. And by the way, where the hell were you?"

"I had to sleep out in the garage."

"Why? You coulda gotten in."

"With you and Amy doin' it there was no way in hell I was going to sleep in here."

"Whatever...," Manic responded, rolling his eyes. "I'm gonna get washed off. Amy too. You just hang around, got it?"

"And listen as you two grope each other in the shower? I'll pass, thanks. I'm gonna go for a spin. Be back in a half hour. Later!"

There was no time for Manic to protest as Sonic blasted out of the house and made his way to the river running through the city. He raced up and down that a few times before taking a few turns up and down the two main super-highways running through the city. From there he circled the entire city for a few laps and even followed the rail lines for a while, easily passing the trains. An hour after he'd left Sonic arrived back at Manic's house where he was met with a surprise. Antoine's BMW was parking in the driveway with it's hood up. Coming to a screeching halt alerted both Manic and Antoine that he'd come back.

"Yo Ant! What'cha doin' here so early?"

"Eet eez my car. Eet 'as been brokeneeng down."

"_Again_? Didn't you just have the thing fixed yesterday?"

"Oui, I deed."

"Damn... I thought BMW's were supposed to be _good_ cars."

"Heh! Why don't you take a look at the odometer, Sonic," Manic said, working under the car.

Sonic was expecting that maybe the car had just past one-hundred thousand miles. But he was quite wrong in that assumption upon looking at the car's mileage.

"_Half a million miles!_"

"Oui. Half a meelleeon miles on zis car."

"I'd bet it's a million and a half, eh Manic?"

"You got that right. This whole car is full of problems and half-assed repair jobs it makes me want to puke. I think the only thing keeping this car going is it's afraid of what you know who might to do it if it fails completely."

"Speakeeng of heem zat eez why I am 'ere, Soneek. I reeporteed to my boss about our plans and he wants to meet weeth you."

"What for?"

"He weeshes to deescuss a few theengs weeth you. And onlee you."

"Why me?"

"Because you are zee leeder of zee group. And unlike weeth Maneek, he feels more comforteeble talkeeng to you."

"Asshole..." Manic muttered to himself about Robotnik.

"Great... just how I wanted to start off the day. Can I at least have some good news?"

"Sure, dude. Here Antoine, give Sonic my cell."

Antoine handed over Manic's green flip-phone to Sonic. He went straight to the text-messaging list in the device and found that there were four recent messages on it, all of them either from or connected to those who had just learned about the situation at hand last night. The first one came as no surprise to Sonic.

**Bunnie: Just wanted to say thanks for helping me. I'll make sure to return the favor to you.  
**

**Mina: I've got a late night talk show appearance tomorrow night. Tune in if you get a chance.  
**

**Silver: We found a sitter for our friend. Nothing to worry about.  
**

**Rouge: Hope you enjoyed last night's party. We'll all get together soon for another one.**

"Uuhhh... Manic? What the hell does this have to do with us?" Sonic said.

"Last night after you left I told everybody if they wanted in to send a cryptic text message, that way nobody else would know the true meaning of the message. Clever, huh?"

"Yeah, that is if you speak code talk."

"It's simple, Sonic. Just read the messages and think outside the box."

Sonic was irritated at having to decode the messages at first, but upon looking at them again it became quite clear what they meant.

_"Bunnie's saying she'll return the favor... so she **must** be saying she's gonna help._ _The same goes for Rouge. It sounds like she's in. For Silver_ _it sounds like he figured out somebody to help guard the Master Emerald. My guess is that it's Blaze. She is the Guardian of the Sol Emeralds, after all. That means Knuckles will be able to come into town today. Mina doesn't sound like she's in, but I'm not sure. And Shadow and Sally..."_

That was the best Sonic could do on his own. Kneeling back down, Sonic returned the phone to his brother.

"Did you figure it out?"

"For the most part. There's only three things I don't get. Mina, Shadow, and Sally."

"Mina is easy. She told me last night she wasn't sure if she'd go on the show or not. Now that she is, people will be paying more attention to that then what we're doing."

"Damn, she's a smart girl."

"I hear that. And my guess is that Shadow agreed along with Rouge to help but didn't want to admit it himself."

"What makes you say he agreed with Rouge."

"He hangs around with her a lot. I can't be sure, but I think they've got something going on."

"Shadow in love?... Not even possible."

"Whatever. Sally, I'm sorry to say Sonic, I haven't heard a peep from, nor has anybody else. I guess this was too big a shock to her that she ditched town."

"Yeah... I hope so."

"Alright, I think that's got it fixed, Antoine. Let's see if she starts."

Manic leaned in and gave the key a twist. The engine was a bit reluctant to start, but after a bit of sputtering and a near stall, it came to life. Manic gave the gas a few revs to warm the engine up and test to see if his repairs worked. Convinced that his repairs were sufficient, Manic turned off the engine and tossed the keys to Antoine.

"Looks like you're back in business, Antoine."

"For zee time beeeng, at leest. Merci, Maneek."

"No problemo."

"So when does Robuttnik want to see me, Ant?"

"Noon. We'd better be goeeng eef we want to make eet een time."

"Alright. Manic, what are you gonna be up to?"

"I'll probably start heading around to pick up everybody else in a bit. When should we meet back up?"

"How's two sound?"

"That works for me. How bout you Antoine?"

"Oui, zat should be fine."

"Then let's start jucin' Ant."

"Have fun," Manic said sarcastically.

Sonic rolled his eyes as he got into Antoine's BMW. Pulling away from the house, Manic's repairs must have done the trick as the car seemed to be running smoothly, as far as the engine was concerned. Still, the high mileage was evident by the very rough ride, un-ordinary sounds, and worn out feel of the car. Despite all of that, once they'd reached Route 101, one of the two super highways running through the city, Antoine accelerated to nearly one-hundred miles per hour.

"Ant, are you nuts! This thing feels like it'll far apart on us!"

"We 'ave to make up zee time."

"We won't be making up a lot of time if the cops pull us over!"

"Zat won't happen. I guess eet 'asn't been told to you yet, but on Route 101 and Route 280, speed leemeets do not eexeest."

All of a sudden a whole new door opened up to Sonic. With roads available that weren't restricted by speed limits, that would make moving the stolen cars loads easier. And since they were super highways with multiple lanes and no sidewalks, the risks of other people getting hurt or recognizing the driver were greatly reduced. The pleasure at having discovered such a momentous fact carried Sonic all the way to Robotnik's place.

"Please tell me we don't have to go into that damn refinery again."

"Fortunatlee, no. We are goeeng to zee docks eenstead."

The two of them drove through the scrap yard straight to an entrance to the docks were there were multiple shipping containers one the land, plenty of workers, and a few docks occupied with various types and sizes of ships. Looking down at the car's clock, Sonic discovered it no longer worked, so he checked his watch to see that they had gotten there not a moment to soon. In fact, looking up Sonic could see both Snively and Robotnik walking off of one of the docks as a large cargo ship blasted it's whistle and began to pull away from the docks. Snively spotted them approaching and informed Robotnik, who then motioned for them to park by a small office-building at the head of all the docks.

"Ahhhhh, Anotine. You are right on time. Very good," Robotnik said cordially.

"Merci, Dr. Robotneek."

"And Sonic, it is a pleasure to see you back again."

"Wish I could say the same."

Antoine grimaced as Sonic's rude comment, but by now Robotnik used to his attitude and laughed it off.

"Always the same, I see. Well anyway, I hope you and Antoine had a great time at that party you both went to last night, by now it's time to get back to work. Shall we?"

The quartet headed inside the building and to the upper story where they made their way to a large meeting room. Sonic paused before heading inside and stopped Antoine along with him.

"I'm not comfortable with this..." he whispered.

"Reemember what I was sayeeng last night? We 'ave to trust heem."

Sonic's heart rate increased as they entered the room and Snivley locked the door behind them. Sonic took a seat across Robotnik who was flanked by Snively on the right and Antoine on the left.

"Okay Sonic, I'm sure you're curious as to why I brought you here so we'll get right to the point."

"As long as I'm not at the end of that point."

"Hahahaha... Sonic, you're sense of humor never seems to diminish does it? Anyway, I wanted you to come here because I want to set down some rules that you must follow completely, or else."

"Or else what?"

"Oh, I think you can figure that out by yourself, hedgehog."

"Knowing your sick way of doing business, I think I can."

"Thank you, Sonic. That's the first time you've acknowledged my business etiquette, I'll begin this meeting. As I said, I want to set down some ground rules for you to follow once you start bringing in the cars. The are quite simple, but if you have any questions, please feel free to stop me."

"Yes mama," Sonic replied.

"Rule #1: Every car you steal must match that which is on the list precisely, no exceptions."

"That was a waste of breath telling me that."

"Rule #2: Each car that you steal must be done without an type of assistance from me or my operations here. I want no connections to you if something should go wrong."

"Thanks for nothing, I guess."

"Rule #3: Each car you steal must be in good condition. The only thing that is allowed is damages that had to be done to gain access and/or start that car, minor blemishes to the interior or exterior, and minor engine problems. I know this may be a pain, but I can't be sending poor-condition merchandise to my customers."

"Of course you wouldn't. Don't want to go out of business because of shitty products, do we?"

"Alright, that is enough!" Snively shouted, getting to his feet. "You're disrespect is intolerable! I will not stand by and listen to you bad mouth Dr. Robotnik like this anymore!"

"Then why don't you come over and shut me up if you don't like it, Shitvely."

Snively made like he was going to charge over the table to get to Sonic, but Robotnik's right arm grabbed Snively by the neck, stopping him dead and making him squeal like a pig. Sonic couldn't help but notice Antoine smirk ever-so-slightly out of the left corner of his mouth as Robotnik pulled his nephew off to the side to talk.

"When I let you run a meeting you can run it as you see fit. But right now you're not in charge so don't _ever_ do that again. Do I make myself clear?"

"But sir, he was badmouthing you. I was only standing up for you because-"

"Do _not_ change the subject, Snively. I said... do I make myself clear?"

"But sir, I-"

"SNIVELY!"

"EEEEEP! YES! Yes sir, I understand sir!"

"Very good... I apologize, Sonic."

"Save it. Just get this over with."

"Rule #4: Once you have delivered a car and left it to my workers, you can't have it taken back. Make sure what you're giving us to process is what we are asking for."

"That's basically a repeat of rule number one telling me not to fuck up, but alright.

"Rule #5: Absolutely no police activity can be brought anywhere near here. If the police catch onto what you're doing, either you lose them before getting here or you must abandon the vehicle."

"Thank you for pointing that out, Captain Obvious."

"You're quite welcome. That's all I have to say for now. I'm going to turn the spotlight over to Antoine. He's going to explain to you what routes would be best to take, points of interest where you could look, where you might run into opposition, and, since this is the second time this job is being attempted, where the previous cars were found."

In truth, most of what Antoine said was already obvious or not of much help. Going back to previous locations was out because they were probably being watched and Sonic already had a good idea of where the police were most likely patrolling. The points of interest weren't very helpful either since they were so general. The only good information was that of which routes were the most direct and easiest to access, especially the non speed restricted super highways.

"Thank you, Antoine. Any questions so far, Sonic?"

"Could you pick up the pace a bit? I'm falling to sleep over here."

"No worries, Sonic. Snively is just going to tell you very fast what you'll do once you bring a car here and what will happen to it. Snively, if you're ready, you may proceed."

Snively's speech was actually quite unnecessary and could have been saved until the night of the boost. He mainly described that the cars had to be brought to the docks quickly before their electronic tracking systems could give them away. Once in the docks, special crews would disable such systems and the cars would be loaded into containers that would further prevent radio or electronic signals from being sent to keep the cars from being located. Snively, for whatever reason, talked a bit about the ship the cars were being loaded into, something that Sonic could care less about. And to top of the totally useless speech, Sonic was reminded approximately twelve times that at exactly 8:00 A.M. no more cars would be accepted, the boat would be loaded, and it would depart.

"Thank you, Snively. Any questions Sonic?"

"I have two. Don't you think that it might look a little suspicious to have a hundred fancy cars come into a scrapyard and docks in the middle of the night?"

"Indeed it would. But as Antoine pointed out, there's a nearby arterial boulevard that many drivers take at all hours of the day. Therefore, if you come that way, nothing will seem suspicious since there's cars there all the time. And if you take the super highways, they feed into that boulevard anyway. And once you do get here, you'll be coming in through the back truck entrance that leads straight into the docks, so not nearly as many people will see you. Does that answer your question?"

"Good enough, I guess. My other question is are we done yet? Me and my gang got a lot of work to do today if were gonna make this happen."

"I'd say we are, Sonic. Let me just conclude this meeting by saying thank you for attending and listening to what we had to say. And I'd like to add that I was quite surprised when Antoine told me what your plan was. Needless to say, it's going to be quite difficult to pull it off. In fact, I'm going to be frank with you and say it's next to impossible."

"I really don't care what you think, Robuttnik. The Freedom Fighters beat the odds when we beat you in the war, and we'll do it again."

"You sound quite confident, Sonic. Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

"You'll have your cars... one way or another... and I'll have my friends back by the time this is over."

"Only time will tell, Sonic. Until then, I wish you luck. You're going to need it." Robotnik then turned to his left. "Antoine, you may leave with Sonic to get ready for tomorrow night. Dismissed."

"Oui, Dr. Robotneek. Come on, Soneek. Nous permettre d'aller."

Antoine and Sonic were headed for the exit when he suddenly stopped, something plaguing his mind.

"I've got one more question, Robotnik."

"The meeting is over, Sonic. I do hope this is important."

"It is. I need to know something about somebody you might be connected with."

"I can't give you that information, Sonic. Unless it deals with an enemy, of course."

"I think it might... Does the name Nack the Weasel, A.K.A. Fang the Sniper mean anything to you?"

"What about him?" Robotnik asked.

"I had a run in with him last night. A painful one. I was just wondering if he had any connections to you."

To Sonic's surprise, both Robotnik and Snively raised their eyebrows in interest. Apparently Nack must have meant something to them, and it was Sonic's guess it wasn't good.

"I'm glad that you told me about this, Sonic. You see, Nack has been quite the nuisance to my business these days. His insatiable desire for money and power has been a constant source of trouble for me as he's been interfering with my operations."

"Guess that hasn't changed then, has it?"

"Apparently not. You know what... I'll make you an offer, Sonic. If you can take Nack off of my shoulders, I'll pay you back somehow."

"I'm already going to do that. Next time I see that creep I'm dragging his ass to the nearest jail."

"Oh no no no, Sonic. I don't want Nack jailed. I want him... _eliminated_..."

Sonic squinted in disgust at Robotnik and turned his back on him, heading for the door of the room.

"Forget it, Robuttnik. I'm already doing enough for you as it is. I'm not going to become you personal assassin. If it means that much to you, then get up off you fat ass and take care of it yourself. You could use the exercise."

Now alone, Robotnik sat back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head and relaxing. Snively, on the ohter hand, wasn't so calm.

"Sir! Why didn't you press him harder? We could finally have gotten rid of the pesky weasel and been free to operate!"

"Patience. So far everything has gone exactly how I've wanted and hoped it to go. There's nothing to worry about."

"But sir-"

"No buts, Snively. I said there's nothing to worry about. Now let's get back to work. The _shipment_ we've been expecting is coming in within the hour. I don't want there to be any SNAFU's with the delivery. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!"

Though Snively couldn't quite place it, there was a cool, collected calm about Robotnik, despite everything that he'd just endured with Sonic. How he'd been able to put up with that was beyond even Snively's level of intelligence, but apparently the ex world dictator had something on his mind. Something that, according to him, was going according to plan.

* * *

It was about 12:30 P.M. Across town, Manic's Camaro had just pulled into his driveway. Inside the car was Tails, Silver, Julie-Su, and Knuckles. Silver and Blaze had traveled out early in the morning to Tails' place in the hopes that he could take them to Knuckles. Luckily, Knuckles had approved of the idea and now Blaze was standing guard over the Master Emerald. The rest of the group had then flown back to Station Square via Tails' X-Tornado jet plane and were picked up at the airport by Manic.

"Damn! This place makes my floating island look like the Trump Tower!" Knuckles said, getting out of Manic's Camaro.

"I'm glad you like it," Manic said sarcastically. "What were you expecting? The Hilton?"

"Yes, actually. With how much money you have from family inheritance, I woulda thought you'd have bought a nice place than this old shack."

"I'm a simple person, Knux. I'm not big on fancy stuff, bling-bling, and luxury. I just get what I need to get by."

"And you steal the rest, right?"

A fist dropped itself on Knuckle's head, making him see stars for a second. Th fist belonged to Julie.

"What didja do that for!" the red echidna roared.

"Because you're acting like an asshole, not to mention you're being too loud!"

"Who the hell is gonna hear us! Nobody else lives on this block but Manic and maybe a few roaches, rats, and mice!"

Another bonk to the head silenced Knuckles. Climbing out of the car Silver was chuckling at the sight before him.

"What are _you_ laughing at!" Knuckles said angrily.

"Heh... If Blaze thinks that _I'm_ naive, she oughta get a load of your ass."

"Why you little!"

Knuckles chased Silver into the house, followed closely by Julie to prevent anything stupid or clumsy from happening. Last out of the car was Tails. He held Manic up a moment to talk to him.

"So how'd we do? Any new hands?"

"Well, you know Blaze obviously. Mina's not in, but she's still helping."

"Let me guess. The talk show interview?"

"Yeah. She figured if she did that it would help take a little attention off the streets."

"Cool. Who else?"

"Bunnie, Rouge, and Shadow."

"Bunnie I expected. Maybe Rouge too. But Shadow? Are you sure he's not doing this just to rat us out?"

"He seems like he's serious. Then again, coming from somebody who has no emotions whatsoever, that's saying a lot."

"I just hope it's not a mistake bringing him aboard. Anyway, is everybody here?"

"Just waiting on sonic and Antoine now. They should be done with that meeting I was telling you about by now."

"Okay. I'm gonna head in."

"Alright. I'm just gonna call them real quick and tell em to get some food."

Tails headed into Manic's house as he whipped out his cell to call Antoine and Sonic. He dialed the number and waited for the other end to pick up.

* * *

Back at Robotnik's H.Q., Antoine had finally gotten the reluctant engine of his car to start after several attempts. Before they could drive off, Antoine's cell phone rang. The coyote recognized the number on it phone's caller I.D. as he answer.

"Bonjour, Maneek."

"_Yo Antoine, what's up dude?_"

"Notheeng much. Eez evereetheeng okay weeth you?"

"_Yeah, it's fine. You mind putting Sonic on? I just wanted to talk to him real quick._"

"Sure. Soneek, eet's your brohter."

"Sup bro?" Sonic asked, taking the phone.

"_Everybody's here, dude. Just waitin' on you guys now._"

"Awesome. Knuckles there too?"

"_Yeah and he's already pissing me off._"

"Why's that?"

No sooner had Sonic asked that, he could hear a loud crash followed by yelling voices in the background.

"_Him and Silver are having a rough-housing session that's probably going to break everything I own._"

"Sounds like fun. Need us to pick up anything that'll be broken by the time we get there?"

"_No, but think you could pick up a food order I'm putting in for us?_"

"Sure. Who's paying?"

"_Antoine could probably afford it._"

"Yeah, I think you're right. Okay, we'll see ya in a little while. Have fun with the wrestling match."

"_Yeah... thanks. Later._"

Just before Manic hung up, Sonic couldn't help but laugh as another very loud crash came through the earpiece, followed by a loud voice he was pretty sure belonged to Julie-Su. Sonic handed the phone back to Antoine, still snickering.

"What eez beeeng so very funny?"

"Just Knuckles and Silver doing what they do best."

"And zat eez?"

"Being dumb asses."

"Heheh... oui, zat eez for sure."

"You got any cash on you, Ant?"

"Oui? Why?"

"Manic's calling in for lunch. He wants us to get it, and it seems like he wants you to pay."

"Zat eez fine. Robotneek gave me some monee een case I had to buy aneetheeng for myself."

"Alright, then we should get going. It'll be done by he time we get there."

About a half hour later Sonic and Antoine had reached Manic's house. They were lucky that they did because about five minutes from their destination the engine of the BMW had began smoking like a bonfire. Pulling up to the house, Antoine beeped the horn numerous times to get somebody's attention. Manic was the first to respond, and one look told him there was a problem. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran out. Lifting the hood, Manic was greeted by a plume of smoke and a breath of flame. Luckily, the fire was put out quickly before any serious damage could be done to the car or those around it.

"Man this car piece of **shit!**" Sonic said, standing off to the side.

"You could say that again, dude."

"This car is a mondo piece of shit!"

"I theenk I get zee point!" Antoine snapped.

"Damn Ant, chill out! Just trying to make a joke!"

"For real, dude. I think you've been around your boss a little too long. You're starting to act like him."

Antoine knew he'd done wrong. He bowed his head in shame and apologized. With that aside, Antoine and Manic pushed the still steaming car into the driveway to let it cool off as Sonic headed inside.

"Hey guys!" Sonic said to the group.

"Hi theah sugah hog!" Bunnie said happily, hugging Sonic.

"Good to see ya again, Bunnie."

"Yo, Sonic!" Knuckles said, hitting fists with the blue hedgehog. "Can't believe you never thought of Blaze as a substitute Master Emerald guardian."

"The old noodle is on overload, Knux. What can I say?"

"Glad to see you're alright," Rouge said, coming forward and shaking hands.

"Careful Sonic, she might try to seduce you," Knuckles taunted.

"Oh shut up!" Rouge spouted.

"Make me, bitch!"

"Do not insult her!... or you _will_ regret it," Shadow had stepped in between the two of them, staring Knuckles right in the eyes as he spoke his threat. Knuckles, being a tough guy himself, wasn't shaken.

"Gonna attack a teammate, Shadow? Yeah, that's right. We're on the same side now. Let's see if you got the balls to harm somebody on your side!"

Shadow scowled threateningly as Knuckle's fists tightened. Luckily, Manic and Antoine had just come in on the middle of the scene, each of them carrying a few bags full of food.

"Okay... what did we miss?" Manic asked.

"...Nothing..." Shadow said apathetically, walking away from the potential fight.

At first, things were rather tense after the near all-out brawl. But over the half hour long lunch break, things cooled off and all was forgiven, at least it appeared that way. One everything had been cleaned up, it was time to get serious. Sonic, Manic, and Antoine helped to get together every piece of information that they had to work with and brought it, along with everybody else, into the house's living room. Once everybody was settled and all the information and gear was ready, Sonic took his place in front of the team.

"I know all of us would rather being doing other things, but I'd really like to thank all of you right now for offering your help. So Knuckles, Julie-Su, Ray, Tails, Uncle Chuck, Shadow, Rouge, Silver, Rotor, Sonia, and Bunnie, thank you for coming."

"What of the others who know about this?" Shadow asked.

"I was getting to them. Mina is going to make an appearance on a nighttime talk show in the hopes of drawing some attention off the streets. And Blaze is currently watching over the Master Emerald. A big thanks goes out to them as well."

"W-w-w... what about S-S-Sally?"

Sonic took a deep breath and sighed. He knew this question was going to come up sooner or later.

"I haven't heard a thing from her. I was hoping maybe one of you could tell me something that I missed after I left the club last night."

"She was the last one to leave. I tired to ask if if she was alright, but she didn't say a thing. Other than that, I don't know anything," Rouge said.

Other than that little bit of information, nobody else knew anything about Sally. That didn't sit well with Sonic, and everybody knew it. It also wasn't sitting well with Shadow and Ray.

"What if she reports us to the authorities?" Shadow asked.

"Or wh-wh-what if they st-st-start a search for h-her?"

"She wouldn't do that," Sonic responded.

"And how would _you_ know," Shadow asked cruelly.

"You forget, Shadow. I was in love with her once. We were the leaders of the Freedom Fighters. Other than her family, if there's anybody that knows her, it's me. I know for a fact she didn't like that this had to happen, but she's smart enough to know that if it isn't done, more people will be hurt than if it wasn't done in the first place."

There was a short silence while Sonic shook of his feelings about Sally and where she might be. Once he'd mustered the strength, he continued with his talk.

"Needless to say I don't blame her because... I know all of you feel the same way. I know we all don't want to do this, but given the circumstances, what choice do we have? The answer is we have only two. Do it, or not do it. I know all us us have some knowledge about this operation already, but what I'm about to tell all of you will pull all of us into the deepest secrecy so far, and it will only grow deeper as we go on. So I will ask now, before you take the next step into this commitment, does anybody want to back out?"

For a few tense moments, Sonic wanted to see if anybody was going to have second thoughts. To his relief and amazement, nobody, not even Shadow, backed out. From there, Sonic relayed the information he'd learned that morning, which was followed by Manic telling the important points of his previous attempt of the job, and Antoine speaking on behalf of Robotnik and what they'd expect from him. Once all of that was done it was approaching the 2:00 P.M. region and everybody was starting to wonder if they'd ever get going. That was when Manic closed the blinds to the room, hooked up a projector to his laptop, and readied the file that contained the code-named list of automobiles.

"Are you ready, Manic?"

"Ready, dude."

"Once you've seen this, you are sworn to secrecy about it. I'm not saying you can't back out of the job, but I'm saying once you've seen this, you're really in this job all the way. If you want to back out, now's the time. There will be no hurt feelings, no resentment, no consequences if you do. Make your choice now."

Once again, nobody indicated they wanted to back out. Even Ray, the timid, stuttering, high-strung being hat he was, stayed silent. In that moment, a feeling of pride that Sonic had not felt in a long time came back to him. He hadn't felt this way since back during the war, when a similar process was performed when choosing those to go on the longest, hardest, most dangerous missions to bring down Robotnik. Now, once again, after all this time, his friends were rising to the call of duty once again. While the feeling was still fresh, Sonic decided it was time to reveal the objective of the mission.

"Manic... the list, please."

With the push of a button, the projector was switched one and it's beam was displayed it's image on the wall in front of the group. Everybody, both those who'd seen the list many times before and those who were still new to it, finally got the idea of how massive a job they were dealing with. Seeing the entire list displayed in it's entirety, with code names and numbers for each car, sent the message home that this job was no joke, and neither was the commitment that the fourteen Mobians in the room had just taken.

* * *

**1. 1999 Acura NSX Alex Zanardi Edition – Alexandra**

**2. 2007 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione – Romola**

**3. 2008 Ariel Atom 300 – Ariella**

**4. 2007 Ascari A10 – Ashanti**

**5. 1964 Aston Martin DB5 – Jamie**

**6. 2008 Aston Martin DBS V12 – Debbie**

**7. 2008 Audi R8 – Audrey**

**8. 2008 Bentley Brooklands – Brooke**

**9. 2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed – Beverly**

**10. 2008 BMW M3 Coupe – Macy**

**11. 2008 BMW M5 Sedan – Mary**

**12. 2008 BMW M6 Convertible – Marcy**

**13. 1992 Bugatti EB110 SS – Bethany**

**14. 2009 Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès – Vevila**

**15. 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz – Bianca**

**16. 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum – Calandra**

**17. 2008 Cadillac XLR-V – Veronica**

**18. 1970 Chaparral 2J – Chapa**

**19. 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible – Bella**

**20. 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 – Zephyr**

**21. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427 – Raven**

**22. 1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro 427 – Cameron**

**23. 1963 Chrysler Turbine – Toni**

**24. 1995 Cizeta-Moroder V16T – Cindy**

**25. 2010 Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition – Monaca**

**26. 1994 Dauer 962 Le Mans – Darla**

**27. 2009 Deronda Type G LS7 – Ronda**

**28. 1983 DMC DeLorean DMC-12 – Delores**

**29. 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 – Chalsie**

**30. 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A – Charlene**

**31. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T– Charla**

**32. 2008 Ducati Desmosedici RR – Drucilla**

**33. 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO – Giovanna**

**34. 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO – Giona**

**35. 1972 Ferrari GTS/4 Daytona – Dayna**

**36. 2003 Ferrari Enzo – Elaina**

**37. 1990 Ferrari F40 – Francesca**

**38. 1995 Ferrari F50 – Felicia**

**39. 2006 Ferrari P4/5 –Pina**

**40. 2006 Ford GTX1 – Ghita**

**41. 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 – Bonnie**

**42. 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 – Bonita**

**43. 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 – Bo**

**44. 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt Edition – McKenna**

**45. 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt GT - Terena**

**46. 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback GT 390 – Stevie**

**47. 1950 Harley Davidson Panhead – Hayley**

**48. 2007 Hennessey Venom 1000 Twin Turbo – Vanessa**

**49. 2008 Honda S2000 Club Racer – Holly**

**50. 2002 HUMMER H1 10th Anniversary Edition - Hermione**

**51. 2006 HUMMER H2 Pacific Blue Edition – Hina**

**52. 2008 HUMMER H3 Alpha – Alma**

**53. 1974 Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster – Jade**

**54. 1994 Jaguar XJ220 – Josephine**

**55. 2007 Koenigsegg CCX – Kathleen**

**56. 1964 Lamborghini 350 GT – Tricia**

**57. 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 – Tasha**

**58. 1999 Lamborghini Diablo GT – Diana**

**59. 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo SE – Gabriella**

**60. 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV – Minerva**

**61. 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Versace – Madonna**

**62. 2008 Lamborghini Reventón– Reba**

**63. 2005 Leblanc Mirabeau – Mirabelle**

**64. 1963 Lincoln Continental Hardtop - Linda**

**65. 2005 Maserati MC12 Stradale – Marilyn**

**66. 2005 Maybach Exelero – May**

**67. 1994 McLaren F1 – Lauren**

**68. 1998 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK-GTR - Aurora**

**69. 2008 Mercedes-Benz AMG SL63– Sheridan**

**70. 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster – McKenzie**

**71. 2007 n2a Motors 789 Convertible – Nadine**

**72. 2009 Nissan GT-R - Nissa**

**73. 2002 Pagani Zonda S – Zelda**

**74. 2005 Pagani Zonda F – Zofia**

**75. 1999 Panoz AIV Roadster – Pandora**

**76. 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda AAR – Arlene**

**77. 1958 Plymouth Fury – Christine**

**78. 1970 Plymouth Superbird – Birdy**

**79. 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge – Judy**

**80. 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 – Rashia**

**81. 1988 Porsche 959 – Harriet**

**82. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT - Carrie**

**83. 1967 Quandt Group Model 770 Amphicar – Amber**

**84. 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Tungsten Edition – Tulia**

**85. 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé– Phoebe**

**86. 2008 Saleen Mustang S302E Sterling Edition – Eleanor**

**87. 2006 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo – Salina**

**88. 1994 Schuppan 962CR - Shannon**

**89. 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C – Colby**

**90. 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350H – Heidi**

**91. 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500KR – Ronda**

**92. 2008 Shelby Mustang GT500KR – Kingsley**

**93. 2004 Spyker C8 Spyder T – Sydelle**

**94. 2008 SSC Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo – Aerona**

**95. 1909 Stanley Steamer Model R – Stacey**

**96. 2006 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300R Limited – Suzy**

**97. 2008 Tesla Roadster – Tessa**

**98. 1992 Vector W8 Twin Turbo – Victoria**

**99. 2005 Venturi Fétish – Félicie**

**100. 1939 Vincent HRD Series A Rapide – Vinita**

* * *

**Author's Notes**:

I want to start by saying that due to numerous changes I made in the list, there have been a few changes made to earlier chapters. Most are very minor and do not need to be worried about. The only really big change I made was back in chapter **9. **Instead of the limousine sequence, Antoine comes with his car and helps take everybody to the party. The only other big change made was the car found in the parking garage in chapter **6**. This, however, you don't have to worry about. It will be brought up later and you'll see the change then.

I'd just like to say right now that I understand not all of you who are reading this are going to know every single car on this list. I did not expect you too. What I was hoping for was that you get a sense of how gigantic the list is and the fact that the cars on it are truly special.

To the handful of automobile enthusiasts I'd like to say I hope you got a kick out of that list. I've been leaking info for quite a long time and changed it more times than I count. At this point, I'm going to give a shout out to a few people:

**Candlelight Fantasia**: One of my fellow auto were the first person I gave sneak previews of the list to. Thanks a ton for the help you gave me in making it. And as you can see, I included a few of your suggestions, including your most favorite car of all.

**SSG Tim the Hedgehog**: Another devoted petrol head. Dude, you gave me a lot of help on this list too. Knowing your taste in cars, I'm sure it left your mouth watering.

**Spencer Serra**: Another person who knows a thing or two about the world's hottest autos. Thanks for telling me which cars you thought were the best to put on. I appreciate the help.

**My Dad**: Even though he's not a member of this website, my love of cars came from my dad. He gave me more suggestions and help than I could ever have imagined. Without him, this list would be nowhere near as awesome as it is. Thanks dad.

Alright, I think that's all for now. Suggestions and constructive criticisms welcome. See you next time!

* * *

**All cars, company names, insignias, trademarks, and automobile related items belong to their respective owners.**


	13. Looking for the Ladies

**Author's Notes**:

Okay, I have some good news and I have some bad news to share.

September 2nd is the start of my sophomore year of college. That's not a bad thing, of course. However, since I will be returning to classes my chances to work on future chapters may or may not slow up a bit. Understand that education is the #1 priority on my list and I will stick true to that rule with no exceptions. However, I will try to work on updates as much as possible to keep you from having to wait months on end for updates.

Now, onto the good news. I had a ton of fun writing this chapter and I think you'll really enjoy it. I made it just a tad longer than usual since I don't know when I'll update next. However, it reads fast and keeps you going, so you don't have to worry about it being slow. It also includes a lot of things that I hope you will find interesting or unexpected.

I want to point at that from this point on I'll be referencing a lot of cars from the list and car related information. I understand not everybody knows as much about these topics as I or some of my readers do. What I do want you to walk away with is the understanding is that if I mention something on these topics it's because it's either important to the story or interesting enough that I thought it should be included.

**Due to events that will be occurring in future chapters, ****the next time you see this story updated it will be rated "_M_."** You will have hints as to why I'm doing this by the time you finish this chapter. This will also give me the padding I need to do things in later chapters as well. I just wanted you to know this so that when I post chapter 14, you'll know to look under **M** for it next time I update the story.

Here's chpt. 13. However, to make sure you'll all be back for chapter 14, I will leave you with this:

**SOMEBODY IS GOING TO DIE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER**

* * *

**Chapter 13** - Looking for the Ladies

Even with all their planning, all they talked about, everything they'd done so far, now that everything was starting to go into motion, the magnitude of the undertaking the fourteen Mobians had accepted began to set in. To say they had to steal one hundred cars sounded like a lot, but actually seeing the list and how long it went on finally showed them what they were up against. Not only that, but at this point they were running short on time, far less than what was needed to get the job done in time without rushing. Nevertheless, they had all accepted the terms of the job and knew it had to be done regardless of the odds against them. There was, however, just one small thing on everybody's mind, and Silver was the first to vocalize it.

"Why did you call them girl's names?" he asked.

"It's code talk. You sound like you're gonna go pick up a girl when it's really a car. That way if anybody overhears you, they don't think twice about it."

"Yeah, I think I got that part of it, Manic. I want to know why _specifically_ you choose what you did."

"Uhhh... I don't know, really. I guess I was thinking the cars were a lot girls... in some ways... I guess... I don't know..."

"You don't know much, do ya?" Silver said rudely.

"Enough. Regardless of how my bubble-headed brother came up with this system, I think it'll work to out advantage," Sonic stated.

"What isn't working to our advantage is the time. As it stands, we have forty-two hours until the deadline and so far today we've accomplished next to nothing. You are aware of that, right Sonic?"

"I'm _well_ aware of that, Silver. And if you'd shut your big yapper, I'd get to what we're doing today."

"It's about damn time..." Shadow mumbled to himself.

"As I said briefly last night, today's objective is to find he locations of each and every one of these cars and do it mondo-fast. The only way we're gonna get that done is by splitting up and keeping our eyes peeled. I figure with the amount of cars in this city we should be able to find them all in no time. So everybody pick the section of the city you know best, tighten up your laces, and let's go find us some cars!"

"Wait just a minute, Sonic."

"What is it, Shadow?" Sonic asked, slightly irritated.

"I feel that the current plan is not sufficient to acquire the information we need in the given time frame. If we're going to get this done, then a new plan must be thought of."

"Oh really? Then let's hear _your_ master plan."

"I do not have one."

"Some help you are. Okay... does anybody have any suggestions?"

"I do," Uncle Chuck announced, getting to his feet. "I agree with Sonic that we need to split up. Given the size of this city and the number of cars in it, the complexity of the list, the time frame we're working with, there's no other way to do this. However, I don't think we should just go running about haphazardly like kindergarteners at recess. It's too ineffective and time-consuming. Therefore, I propose that we break up according to what we do best and what areas we are most familiar with. Are you with me so far?"

A resounding "no" told Chuck that he needed to be more clear in his description.

"Okay... Let me put it like this. There's two sides to this city, the business-industrial and the residential, which are separated by the river. There's the two super-highways Route 101 and 280 and the skies over the city. Lastly, there's the computer networks. I figure if we could get groups to cover all of those areas by those who know them best, then we should be able to identify the cars and get the information on them that we need before nightfall. Then, once the night has come and we've got all the information we need, we can all quickly get around and document where each and every car is at night, since that's when we'll be stealing them. Once we have all of that, it's just a matter of getting ourselves together and getting the cars one by one until we have each and every one of them my 8:00 A.M. Friday morning. If anybody thinks this plan might work, say so by getting to your feet."

For a few moments, everybody looked around at each other, to see who, if anybody, would move. Then, sure enough, everybody started getting to their feet until only Shadow was left sitting. All eyes were on him as he thought about the plan until finally he got to his feet.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Uncle Chuck. That's one hell of a good idea you came up with," Sonic said, patting Chuck's shoulder.

"Heh... I might have an old body, but my mind is like it's brand new."

"That it is. Alright, so who's gonna take what positions?"

"I think it's obvious I'll take care of some of the computer stuff," Manic said. "I can hack into the D.M.V. mainframes, auto-insurance databases, vehicle registration records, and all that shit."

"I'll join that team too. I've got a lot of connections to various mechanic shops and and related venues that I might be able to find some things from," Rotor stated.

"And I think I could help too. I have clearance to police r-r-records and files that m-m-might be helpful," Ray added, nervously.

"Alright then, Manic, Rotor, Ray, you're the computer team," sonic said.

"Being a bat girl and a city girl, I'll take care of spying on the town from above," said Rouge.

"Then I guess I'll take the residential side," Silver added.

"And since I'm the one with the jet, I'll take the overall view," Tails finished.

"Good, Silver, Rouge, Tails, you're the eyes in the skies."

"Seence I am 'aveeng one of zee cars, I weell search zee ceety," Antoine announced.

"I'm like so in on searching the city," Sonia added.

"A'hm in too."

"Great, Antoine, Sonia, Bunnie, you search the city."

"And I'll take Knuckles and Julie-Su with me in Manic's Camaro to the residential side since they don't visit town much. You two okay with that?"

"Sure thing. How bout it, Knux?"

"No problem, Julie."

"Just be careful with my car, Uncle Chuck. You know how much I like it."

"This coming from the hoon that puts the pedal to the floor after every red light?"

"Just... just be careful," Manic answered, a little embarrassed.

"Excellent! Then that leaves you and me Shadow. Which highway do you want?"

"Route 280."

"Cool. Then I'll take Route 101. Any questions?"

"Oui. Umm... what eef me car eez catcheeng fire again?"

"That was my bad, Antoine. When I was working I forgot to clean up some fuel I spilled when I disconnected the fuel line. You should be okay now," Manic stated.

"I am hopeeng so."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, I want to give everybody something," Tails said.

The kitsune brought out a small satchel which he opened and emptied. Inside were fourteen devices that looked like large, black, square wristwatches, but more complex. Everybody took the devices and put them one, tinkering with them to see what they were everything they could do. Though they were a bit on the bulky side, it was clear that these were quite a unique invention.

"So what exactly can these things do, Tails?" Sonic asked.

"It's basically a multi-function information, communication, and documentation device. It has a calendar and time feature, internet access, email, built in spy-cameras, a walkie-talkie, real-time image recording and streaming, text-messaging, a mini parabolic microphone, G.P.S., satellite street mapping, a short-range radar, data storage and transferring, voice-activated commands, and a whole bunch of other really neat stuff. I figured we could use these to keep in touch and send info to each other."

"Way past cool Tails! These are gonna be great. By the way, what do you call them?"

"I call it the "Miniature All Resources Information Accessor,", or MARIA for short."

The moment Sonic heard what the devices were called his eyes shot over to Shadow. It was no secret that at one time the vague memories of a time long ago when a young girl named Maria was murdered in front of Shadow took him into fits of rage and/or depression. Though Shadow did look a bit surprised at the name, he seemed to be keeping himself under control. It seemed strange to Sonic as to why his rival wasn't affected as usual, but since it had been six years since he'd last seen him he figured something must have happened that allowed him to get over it.

"Okay, now that we all have a way to stay in touch, is there anything else on our minds?... No?... Okay... Let's do it to it!"

* * *

Roughly an hour later at the Team Chaotix Headquarters, the quartet sat trying to make sense of the evidence they had. Only a short time ago they'd received additional information for the Station Square Police Department. They had all been hoping that the breakthrough they were looking for would be in this new data so they could begin tracking down the criminals responsible. That, however, was not the case.

"It seems that the S.S.P.D. knows just about as much as we do," Espio said in a frustrated tone.

"Yeah, not a damn thing..." Vector stated. "You'd think with all the specialty teams and resources that they have available to them woulda have produced more than this!"

"It just doesn't make sense..." Mighty said, scratching his head. "Even the toughest criminals we've taken on have always left us at least a half-decent lead that we could go off of. I just don't get it. There's nothing to go on but paper thin leads!"

"Yeah, tissue paper thin." Vector added.

"The only other thing that we might be able to go off of is the new photographs we've received. Charmy, have you finished looking those over?" Espio asked.

The little bee did not respond. Mighty leaned over and tapped Charmy on his shoulder. Turns out he was asleep, and had probably been so for a long time.

"Yo, Charmy. Wake up, pal," Mighty said, shaking Charmy's shoulders.

"Huh?... Where are we?... What's going on?" Charmy said groggily, sitting up in his chair.

"We were curious if the pictures the S.S.P.D. sent us had any new leads," Vector informed him.

"Oh, okay. Let me see here."

"You didn't even look at them _did_ you?" the chameleon asked exasperatedly.

"Shut up! I did look at em, just give me a second!" the bee snapped.

After gathering the photos and his thoughts, Charmy spread them out on the table the group was sitting at. Without even being told so, they all knew there wasn't anything big.

"What they took is a lot like what I took. It's just all the cars, the bit of tire tracks, a little engine fluid, and the way they might have got away." Charmy explained.

"Disgraceful... Even with all of this, we're no farther than we were yesterday."

"You're wrong, Espio. Look at this," Charmy said, reaching for a series of pictures. "These look like pictures of damage to a wall with black paint on them. Does this seem like something to any of you?"

"It could be from the get away vehicle hitting the wall as it left," Mighty suggested.

"It's probably just an old abrasion on the wall that's unrelated to this case," Espio said, unimpressed.

"Well what do you want, Espio! This might be all we get on the bad guys!" Charmy yelled.

"Don't you _dar_e raise your voice to me or I'll show you a thing or two!"

"Don't _you_ dare threaten a fellow detective!" Mighty said in a raised tone.

"You keep out of this, Mighty! This is none of your business!"

"The hell it isn't! If you think I'm gonna let you act that way-"

"You'll do nothing because you don't believe in hurting others! Between your pathetic pacifism and Charmy's childish stupidity, it's amazing anything ever gets done by this team!"

After that there was complete silence as the offense of what had been said sunk into Charmy's and Mighty's minds. Charmy, being still very young and sensitive, began to tear up and sniffle. Mighty went to console his friend, flashing Espio a glare as he past. Espio started to feel as though he should apologize, but it was too late for that. The offenses he'd spoken also nestled into Vector's brain, but in a much different fashion.

"Espio... I would like to speak with you outside. _Now_."

Outside in the back courtyard to their headquarters, Vector shut the door leading to the area and proceeded further away form the building so as to not be overheard.

"Vector... I know I've done wrong. I let my emotions get the better of me and I'd like to say that-"

"Quiet Espio. I said _I_ wanted to talk to _you_, not _yo_u talk to _me_."

"...Yes sir..."

"Let me ask you this, Espio... Whose the Captain of this team? Who oversees that it's operations are run as smoothly as possible? Who keeps it's members in balance and operating as a reliable team?"

"...You do..."

"Correct. And do I tolerate when that system is interfered with and keeps us from doing our job?"

"...No..."

"That's right. And what do I do to those who I see as offensive to either my system of operation or the law?"

"...Punish them..."

"Spot on. With all of that said, Espio, let me ask you something. Are you guilty of corrupting that which I just spoke of?"

"...Yes..."

"Good answer."

"I'd just like to say I'm sorry, sir. I'm just stressed that this case is proving far more difficult than we had anticipated."

"I'm stressed too, Espio. You don't see me jumping down the throats and offending my teammates, do you?"

Espio didn't answer for he already knew the answer was obvious. Knowing that he'd succeeded in proving Espio's guilt, Vector knelt down to be eye level with the chameleon.

"Listen to me very closely, Espio. I don't know what the _fuck_ has gotten into you recently, but you'd better let it back out. I will not tolerate your attitude or behavior on my team anymore."

"Are you saying that... you're firing me?"

"Not yet... but you know damn well that I'll do it if necessary, regardless of whether or not I or the others liked it. So unless you want to start looking for a job as a martial arts instructor, I suggest you get your shit together and clean up your act. Do I make myself clear?"

Espio could only nod in response he was so ashamed of himself. Having said is piece, Vector, along with his scolded partner, proceeded back to the others. Back in the room with all the evidence, Vector could tell just by the body language of his other two partners that there was good news.

"Have you found something?" Vector asked, as if nothing bizarre had happened.

"Yes, I'm happy to say. I'll let Charmy tell ya, since he is our photographer."

"Let's have it, shutterbug."

"Heheheh... Looking at the pictures again, I noticed a few things that we'd missed. One, the tire marks on the ground are too far away from the fresh engine fluids. That means that there were two get away cars. Also, after looking at the tire tracks and the analysis of them from the S.S.P.D., the tire tracks show us which way the escape route was. Lastly, there's enough evidence to show that there was indeed more than one thief involved on this job."

"It's still nothing rock solid, but... at least it's something," Mighty added.

"Be that as it may, I must say I'm very impressed you two. You've proven how well working as a team and doing the job right gives us the information we need in an effective, time-efficient manner. With this new evidence we are going to go back to the crime scene and re-confirm these new facts and try to see if we can learn anything else new from seeing it in person. Then, with that information, we're going to investigate and question our strongest sources and see what we come up with. Are we in agreement?"

"I'm in," Mighty said.

"You bet I am!" Charmy shouted.

"...Mmm-hmm..." was all Espio could muster.

"Excellent. Let's get going, then."

Everybody gathered up all the evidence and equipment they would need for the day and prepared to depart. Before Espio could leave, he made eye-contact with Vector. The crocodile flashed him a look that was a cross of "I'm still a bit angry at you, You'd better behave out there, and I told you so." Without any words, the remainder of the team set out to investigate their new leads.

* * *

The searching system devised was working like a charm. In just two hours they'd manage to identify and locate the locations of over half the vehicles they'd be stealing tomorrow night. Most of these had come from the computer research team, but there were many lucky finds by those out in the field and skies as well that would never have been found from behind a computer screen. Currently, Manic was one mouse click away from finding the location of another car.

"I think I got one here... Hold on... _Hold on_... YES! Got the location of 'Raven'! She's just on the other side of the river!"

"Uhh, you wanna remind us which one that is?" Rotor asked.

"Why, don't you have the list memorized yet?"

"Umm, no. I've only known of the code names for two hours. You've known about them since yesterday."

"Yeah, your right. My bad. It's the 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427. I know it's a rare car, but apparently they're even rarer in this city. I only found three total and this is the only one I could get a definite location on."

"One's all we need."

"True, but it would be nice to have a back up in case something happens to one of them ya know? Either way, I got dibs tomorrow night on this baby."

"Sp-sp-speaking of something happening, do you th-th-think something has happened t-t the others?"

"Ray, for the last time would you _relax_ already! Me and Rotor have told you enough times that the guys in the field aren't going to find them as fast as us. Just chill. The moment those guys find something they'll call in."

_"Maneek, zis eez Antoine, do you copee?"_

"See?," Manic, activating his MARIA. "Yeah, I'm here Antoine. What's up?"

* * *

"We we're on zee chageeng of locations when your seester spotteed one of zee ladees!"

_"Coolness! Sonia, can you hear me?"_

"Unfortunately, yes."

_"See if you can get close enough to get a picture of the license plate."_

"Hang on, we're coming up to a red light."

As they slowed at the red light, Sonia quickly flipped her wrist device to camera mode and took a quick picture of the license plate and sent it to Manic.

_"Good going, sis! Hey, do me a favor. Go to live video for a second."_

Sonia pointed the contraption's camera towards the car in front of them as it took video. Suddenly, Manic gasped over the communicator.

_"Dude! That's Zephyr!"_

"Otherwise known as a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 to us non-geeks," Sonia joked with the others.

_"Do you know how much trouble we've had trying to find one of those? They're brand-fucking-new! Hardly any of them are on the road!"_

"You think I _didn't_ know that? You know how much I like Corvettes, Manic. I've been looking for _all_ of them since we started."

_"Just keep doin' what ya'v been doing, sis. I'll track the location of this one right now. Manic out."_

Suddenly, every car behind theirs began beeping wildly. Sonia glanced up and saw that the light was green.

"Like, what are you waiting for Antoine!"

"Eet eez not _my_ fault! Zee brakes on zis stupeed car are stuck!"

"I thought that Manic fixed this heah thang!"

"Knowing my brother, he probably screwed something up."

Finally, after pounding the break pedal several times, the breaks released. But as they pulled away, the air conditioner failed and a loud rattling sound came from the engine compartment.

"This car is, like, so grody to the max!"

"I don't even know what you just said but that's for shoah!"

"Sacrebleu cheese..." was all Antoine could say given the frustrating circumstances.

* * *

On the other side of the river, the elder hedgehog Chuck sat waiting in the parking lot of the Station Square Motor Sports Park. The location had two race tracks built in close proximity to each other, along with a whole bunch of garages and various facilities that spanned over a few acres for civilians and professional racers to come and use the tracks. The reason Chuck, as well as Knuckles and Julie-Su, had come there was they'd heard a commercial on the radio that there was a week-long event called "Racers of the Past & Present" taking place there and they thought they might be able to find some of the cars they needed there. After having waited for about a half an hour the pair of echidna's returned from checking out the tracks and garages to see if there was anything good there.

"So how'd it go?"

"Well... there's some good news and some bad news," Julie stated.

"Which do you want first?" Knuckles finished.

"Alright, give me the bad news first."

"As me and Knux found out, most of what stays here overnight are actual race cars, professional ones. Most of the street legal cars that we were hoping to get from here don't stay overnight since they're the driver's everyday cars and they need them to commute. So the hopes of hitting the mother load here are aren't going to be answered."

"Damn."

"Don't worry, Chuck. The good news is that me and Julie did get the license plates of quite a few cars we needed, they just won't be here when we come to get them."

"Well that's good, I guess. Let me see what you guys got real fast."

Chuck took a look as the screens of the two guardian's devices and was fairly impressed with what they had. But the last cars for each echidna just about made Chuck's eyes fall out of their sockets.

"Oh my word... those last two... Please tell me they're staying here!"

"I'm pretty sure that this one is. And I _know_ Knuckles' is.

"And what makes you think that?"

"Knux... do you honestly think a car like that is legal to drive on the streets?"

"Uhh... Oh yeah... right."

"This is great. Wait until the guys hear this...," Chuck said, activating his com-link. "Manic it's Uncle Chuck, you there?"

_"Please don't tell me you're calling to say you ruined the clutch in my car."_

"No, I'm not calling because of that. We just had a pretty good find here at the motor sports park."

_"It's that "Past and Present" event, right?"_

"You got it. I'll tell you that most of the cars we have aren't staying here, but there are two that are gonna knock you guys up for a loop."

_"Cool. Send these to Rotor. This is more of his specialty."_

"Copy that."

Julie sent her information off first, then Knuckles. A short time passed as the computer team processed the information, but then they came upon Julie's lucky find.

_"Dude! You found Mirabelle!"_

_"Which is the 2005 Leblanc Mirabeau, by the way. Great job, Julie. We're gonna start looking over Knux's stuff right now. Hang on a second."_

Once again, there was a momentary pause as Knuckles' findings were reviewed. Then, just as Rotor's com-link came up, the trio in the car could hear Manic screaming "They found Chapa!" in the background.

_"I guess you guys can figure out Manic is happy. Anyways, great job Knuckles. You and Julie's findings just pushed us a little over sixty found. Keep it up. Rotor out."_

"I think we should get going, you two. We've been here a long time and we need to get moving."

"Hold on a second. Does anybody remember which car 'Chapa' is?"

"Yes... yes I do..."

All of a sudden Chuck had a look on his face that could only be called nostalgic, like when a grandparent is telling a story to a grand child from long ago, or when a parent finds an old reel-to-reel video from their childhood, or when somebody finds a memento from a special time in their life.

"It's the 1970 Chaparral 2J... A milestone in engineering, ingenuity, and technology if ever I saw one... I remember the first time I ever heard about that vehicle I was frozen in awe. Nothing had ever been seen like it before, and in my opinion, none of the attempts to recapture it haven't come close. There are some things that are perfect the first time they make them... and the 2J... or should I say 'Chapa'... is one of them."

Chuck's ears flicked as they detected a sound emanating from the racetrack closest to them. It sounded like a race car and an airplane flying in tandem as the crescendo of sound grew louder and louder, climaxed as it passed, then dissipated as it continued on down the track. Since they couldn't see 'Chapa,' neither Julie nor Knuckles knew what was so special, but Chuck knew all to well he'd just heard the sound of one of his favorite inventions of all time. With a twinkle in his eyes like a child at a surprise birthday party and a smile like a young man after his first kiss, Chuck decided that was a good note to leave on and did just that.

* * *

The afternoon was dragging on further and further, but things were going good. By now the count was approaching seventy, but things seemed to be slowing down a bit. This was most likely due to the fact that the afternoon rush hour was getting into it's later stages and there weren't quite as many people on the road. Nevertheless, the team kept vigilant as the search went on. Not too far outside the city at a rest stop on Route 280, Shadow was watching the road fastidiously as he rested for a few minutes.

_"Hey Shadow! How are things going on your end?"_ said Sonic's voice on Shadow's communicator.

"I'm taking a quick rest, but my eyes are on the road."

_"Well don't take all year to get back on the search, alright?"_

Shadow chose not to answer so that he could get back to what it was he'd stopped for. Much like Sonic's shoes, Shadow's hover skates had a small compartment area under the inner soles. From one such compartment Shadow pulled out a black cigarette, then replaced his shoe. Unfortunately, the compartments were much too small for a lighter. To get around this problem, Shadow ever so slightly activated the rocket boosters on the underside of the skates and lit the cigarette. He used up about a centimeter of the cigarette with a single breath that he held in for a period much longer than any mortal could tolerate, then slowly released the smoke from within his lungs into the atmosphere.

"Hmph... perfect..." Shadow said to himself, referring to the quality of the cigarette.

Shadow continued to stoke the stick of tobacco, trying to savor each puff as much as possible. This was not the first time Shadow had smoked, in fact he'd lost track of how much he did it. Since he was a created life form, the harmful effects mortals would suffer did not affect him, so all he felt were the so called "pleasurable" effects. The other reason he kept it a secret was he knew all of his "friends," as well as many other people in the world, would try to stop him if they knew. Despite all of this, a feeling of guilt came over the ebony hedgehog every time he smoked not because he could only do it in private. Though he wouldn't admit, there were a few people he didn't want affected by his choice to smoke. Holding the smoldering product in his fingers, he saw that already it was almost gone. With a deep sigh, the smoke emptied out of his lungs and flowed out in front of him and dissipated into the air.

"Just like everything else in my life... A good thing gone too soon..."

With one last long inhale, the cigarette was used up and Shadow leaned over to extinguish it in a public ashtray. Just as he was doing this, however, a loud engine on the highway roared by. Shadow looked up just in time to see a car with a black and red color scheme dart down the road at a speed that had to be at least two-hundred miles per hour. Blowing the smoke out of his body, Shadow activated the rocket-boosters on his hover-skates and gave chase to the vehicle. Even though Shadow knew he was faster than any car, in the few seconds he'd lost it was already out of sight. Speeding down the highway, Shadow's eyes scanned for the target, but it was nowhere to be found. With an angry grunt, he figured out it must have slowed down and exited the highway. Hopping up onto the nearest light pole, Shadow caught a slight glimpse of the vehicle as it pulled onto city streets from an exit ramp. Without wasting a second, Shadow set his communicator for Rouge's frequency.

"Rouge, come in."

There was no answer on the other end, which only further irritated the hedgehog.

"I repeat, Rouge, are you reading me?"

There was still no answer. Shadow frowned as he began to have thoughts of just letting the possible lucky find go, but decided to try once more.

"Are you there, Rouge? Do you copy?"

_"Yeah, I'm here. Sorry I didn't answer, but I'm tracking a car I've been looking for all day. It just came off Route 280."_

"It wouldn't happen to be big and black with a loud exhaust note, would it?"

_"How did you know that?"_

"Because... I was following it..."

_"And judging by the tone of your voice, you lost it. Well if you want to catch it, it appears to be moving towards the casino near the Station Square Central Station."_

That was all Shadow needed to hear. Leaping off of the light post and free falling to the ground, Shadow teleported into the city and on top of a building with a distant view of the aforementioned casino. The looking around, Shadow spotted the vehicle growling along on the city streets below. Performing a series of acrobatic jumps and feats, Shadow stealthily jumped from rooftop to rooftop to keep up with the car until the reached the casino. About a block from the now apparent destination of the car, Shadow dropped into an alleyway and watched in the darkness as he finally got his first good look at what he was pursuing.

"Vevila..." he whispered to himself.

Though he hadn't memorized the whole thing, Shadow's photographic memory did recall 'Vevila', the 2009 Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès. Without a doubt, it was one of the most exclusive vehicles on the list as production was in the single digits for the world, had a cost of over two million dollars and was capable of going just over two-hundred and fifty miles per hour. As per usual, Shadow got a picture of the car and it's license plate, but he noticed something else. Not only was the human driver dressed in a suit that easily had a five-digit price tag, but the driver actually trusted the valet team to park the vehicle. Observing the valets carefully, he could tell that there were plenty of gaps and loopholes that he could use to his advantage to get the car from this location. Deciding he'd gotten what he needed, Shadow retreated back into the alleyway and was going to teleport away, but he had a feeling he was being watched. Looking up, a silhouette from above waved at him. Teleporting to the roof, he was greeted by a familiar white bat.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

"Do I get a thank you?"

"...The help was appreciated...," was all the apathetic hedgehog could allow himself to say.

"Oh come on, Shadow. Loosen up a bit," she said in a friendly way.

"Have you forgotten what we're doing? This is not something to be taken lightly."

"I know that, but being all tight about it isn't gonna help."

"...I know..."

Shadow half-turned away and shut his eyes, letting a deep breath out of his nose. She wrapped an around his neck to show she was there for him.

"You're still not happy about doing this... are you?" she asked.

"No, but I know you're not either." he said, turning to face her. "Rouge, you know how I feel about you... You know how much you mean to me... You know... how much I love you," he continued as his hands came to rest on his lover's shoulders and pull her even closer to himself. "You've done more for me than what I deserve. You've helped me move on from my troubled past and showed me the type of kindness that's been missing my whole life. I don't want to lose that or you."

"You won't lose me Shadow. You and I have been through things far worse than this and we've always made it out, so don't worry about it, okay? We'll get through this, just like we always have."

Rouge's soft-spoken words were one of the few things that could penetrate as deep into Shadow's soul as they did. A lump formed in his throat as he admired the woman that had fallen for him and what she had said to him. Neither were able to hold it back any longer and their lips met to savor their love. But no sooner had Shadow done so he realized it was a mistake, for Rouge might notice the scent or taste of tobacco on him. Not wanting to get caught, Shadow ended the kiss abruptly, much to Rouge's disappointment.

"What was that?"

"Sorry... I'm just... I can't do that here... now..."

"Then... we'll just have to pick up where we left off... _tonight_..."

"Mmm... I like that sound of that..." he said with a grin.

"I know ya do. Well, take care of yourself Shad. See ya a little later."

With a wink of her eye, Rouge soared back up into the sky to continue the search. On one hand, Shadow felt relief in that he was glad his secret was exposed. But on the other hand, he felt relief from the worry he'd had all day. With that thought, Shadow felt a renewed sense to push himself onward and he teleported to a new location to keep looking.

* * *

It was getting on towards six o'clock now and the light in the sky was beginning to transition to the beautiful sunset palette. Unfortunately, this sight was not observed by most people in the city. That, however, was not the case for Sonic. Having found five more cars in nearly the past hour that brought the count up to eighty-five, he decided to take a breather and enjoy the sight before him at a rest stop outside the city as well. Lying out on the ground and gazing up at the sky, a sense of tranquility came over him. They'd nearly completed the research in record time and knowing that things would probably keep going as they were, for the first time in a while Sonic felt as though there was nothing bothering him.

"Finally come back for a rematch?"

Arching his head back and looking up, Sonic couldn't help but smirk. His memory easily placed the six-foot, green-eyed, red-haired man staring down at him. It was Sam Speed, leader of the S-Team high speed patrol squad under the S.S.P.D. At an earlier time Officer Speed was known to be the fastest thing in Station Square, but after a run-in with Sonic, that had long since changed. Ever since then Sam had been trying to reclaim that title, a task that had proved itself to be impossible.

"Sam Speed... Long time, no see."

"_Too_ long. I've gotten a much faster car, you know."

"So what? You know you'll never beat me, Sam. That's just the way it is."

"We'll see about that. I'll see you later."

"Is that the hello I get after six years? What a ripoff!"

"You oughta know that I don't wait, Sonic. I say hello fast, I say goodbye fast, I eat fast, I drive fast, I read fast, I... do everything fast."

"That doesn't really work to well in bed though," Sonic joked.

Sam only glanced at Sonic over his shoulder at the comment as he got into his high speed patrol vehicle, which basically looked like a cross between a fighter jet and a F1 race car. And just like that, Speed pulled back onto Route 101 headed for the city and was gone. Sonic couldn't help but laugh at the rather pathetic reunion between him and Sam, but this issue was quickly put aside. Sonic's ears pricked up at the sound of a loud, high-pitched engine that was on the side of the highway headed outbound from the city. Scanning the road, a brilliant red automobile drove by at high speeds and continued down the roadway. Though he could have easily given chase, Sonic wanted to stay off the roads with Sam Speed around. A re-match to see who was faster wasn't what Sonic was in the mood for right now, especially since he knew he'd win anyway. Instead, Sonic called up Silver on his communicator.

"Yo Silver, you there bud?"

_"Yeah, what is it?"_

"You busy right now? I need some help."

_"Not really, I'm just hovering away from a neighborhood in the suburbs looking for the next girl, so to speak."  
_

"What? You idiot! What if somebody sees you?"

_"Nobody will see me."_

"Oh yeah, a five foot silver pot-leaf head hedgehog levitating above a neighborhood! You'll fit right in!"

"_Whatever._ _Oh, and by the way, I found Delores a minute ago. Spread the word for me, huh?"_

Scowling over Silver's stupidity, Sonic sent a message to his brother that Delores, the 1983 DMC DeLoream DMC-12, had been found. Sonic then dialed in to Tails' frequency.

"Hey Tails... You there, little bro?"

_"You bet. What's up?"_

"Had any luck finding some girls from up there?"

_"I'm looking at one right now. Hang on, I'm gonna take a closer look."_

Tails first used his MARIA to get Sonic's location by G.P.S. With that information, he banked his X-Tornado jet place in that direction and began following Route 101 from high above. Then, using a high-powered telephoto lens built into the jet, Tails searched the roads for a red car. It didn't take him long.

_"__Daaamn..."_

"What is it?"

_"Sonic... it's Pina."_

"And she is?..."

"_The one-of-a-kind Ferrari P4/5 we've been looking for. Hang on, it's leaving the highway. I'll track it and tell ya where it goes._"

A few minutes passed as Sonic sat tapping his foot and waiting impatiently.

"Any year now, Tails."

"_What do you want me to do? A high speed pass over the car to scare the shit out of the driver and make him drive faster?_"

"That would be nice."

"_And illegal. Oh wait wait wait... **Woah**... How did we miss this place?_"

"What place?"

_"I'm sending you the address and coordinates right now. Get there fast, Sonic. This place looks like a gold mine!"_

It took less than two minutes for Sonic to get to the location and when he did he could see why Tails had said it was a gold mine. Sonic found himself standing outside of a giant Italian automobile repair and maintenance center. The site consisted of a small office building bearing multiple Italian automotive company insignias, several large garages for the various companies, a test track to check or look for repairs, and a large fenced off garage filled with automobiles. Gazing into the area, Sonic spotted the P4/5 being parked to wait for whatever needed to be done to it. Looking around, it seemed that there were a lot of other cars that were needed were all here. Taking cover around the corner, Sonic called up Manic on his communicator.

"Yo Manic, you're not gonna believe what I just found."

_"Let me guess... and all-you-can-eat chili dog stand?"_

"That would be cool, but no. Me and Tails just found this mondo-big Italian auto fixer-upper place."

_"The one outside the city, right?"_

"Yeah, that's it. Why didn't you guys look into it yet?"

_"Because it's a pretty high-security place, not to mention there's a lot of people around that area. It would be a real pain in the ass to get in there."_

"Well have you had _any_ luck finding the other Italian cars?"

_ "We did find a lot of the other Italian cars on the list, but we've had some trouble with the Lamborghini's and Ferrari's. Some of them are so rare we just can't find them."_

"Well than maybe this'll change your mind. I just followed the P4/5 right here."

_"...You're kidding..."_

"I ain't the lying type. I suggest you and Rotor look into this place. It's a gold mine."

_"Alright, give us a second."_

A second turned into five minutes, much to Sonic's annoyance, but finally Manic got back ot his brother.

_"**Dude**... we're **so** gonna hafta figure out a way to get into this place... It **is** a gold mine.. Every single Ferrari **and** Lamborghini we need is in there."_

"Every one?"

_"**Every single one.**"_

"Way past cool. Problem is I don't think I can get in without it looking too suspicious."

_"Don't worry about that. Let Tails take a few pictures of the cars from his jet. You try to get a few photos of the place itself. We'll figure out what to do from those."_

"Alright. Later bro."

* * *

"Later."

"Man, that was one hell of a find those guys had!" Rotor commented.

"I hear ya. But like I said, getting in and out of there isn't gonna be easy. We're gonna need some sort of strategy."

"Let's just wait until the others get back and talk it over then."

"Yeah. Speaking of which, I forget how many we have let. Let's see... we have-"

"G-g-got one! Found a new 2005 Porsche Carrera GT!" Ray squealed.

"Sweet, dude! Adding 'Carrie' to the count, we have... none left."

"What?"

"You m-mean we're d-d-done!"

Manic set his communicator to speak to everybody and deliver the good news.

"Good news, gang. We're done. Head back to the fort."

Rotor and Ray high-fived in celebration while Manic rechecked his computer list. Sure enough, they had a location on every single vehicle on the list. And even more amazingly, they'd found all of it in about four hours, far quicker than anybody had expected. Now it was just a matter of documenting each car at the location it would be stolen from and planning the best way to get it to Robotnik's docks, a task that would begin in just a few hours.

* * *

"Crikey! Where the hell are those two blokes?"

Nack was furious that his cronies had not returned yet. In fact, they'd been gone for so long he'd decided to get a task out of the way. Spread out on a table before him was Nack's gun cleaning kit and his pair of Colt Python .357 Magnum revolvers. Nack was waiting for Bean and Bark to return with an important package that he was going to need for the night. Just as Nack was finishing up the maintenance on the revolvers when he heard his two cronies pull up outside in the Jeep.

"It's about bloody time..." he muttered as they entered.

"Sorry that took so long, Nack. Traffic was a bitch," Bean stated.

"And the food place kept getting our order wrong," Bark added.

Bark set down a large bag filled with various Chinese take-out cuisines and Bean set down a smaller bag. The trio proceeded to eat, but Nack did so more to get it out of the way than to enjoy it. Afterwards Nack emptied the contents of two other bags.

Inside one was multiple boxes of 7.62x54R and .357 ammunition for the revolvers. Nack checked the ammunition boxes and was pleased to find he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. Inside the other bag, however, was a terrifying and deadly Dragunov SVD, a ten-shot, high-powered semi-automatic sniper rifle. This one in particular had a wooden stock, several jungle-taped magazines and a high-powered scope with night-vision capabilities.

Since Nack's downfall and loss of credibility survival had been a struggle. That was part of the reason why he had reconnected with Bark and Bean so that they could pool their resources. It was also the reason why, over time, he'd sold off his entire of arsenal of weapons he'd used back during his prime. Since the night's target was one he'd been waiting for all his life, Nack and his teammates used the last of their resources to buy all of the supplies they now had.

"Damn it feels good to have a Dragunov SVD back in my hands... Best damn rifle I've ever used. It'll get the job done tonoight, no doubt about it."

"Well it'd better be for the price we paid. Speaking of which, you do realize that we spent every last bit of money we had tonight, right?" Bean pointed out.

"Of course I do, mate. Ain't gotta remoind me of that. I think next to Sonic the things I hate most are not having any money or an arsenal full of guns and ammo. But after tonoight money will be the last of our worries."

"Yeah, about that. Let's just get one thing straight... if we do this tonight, then we'll get ammunition and guns we want for free from the place we got that rifle from?"

"That's roight, Bark. That's why we got this thing half-off because of that fact."

"And we'll have access to all the explosives a bomb expert could ever use?"

"Damn straight, Bean. And best of all we'll get our rep back. That means all the money and sheilas we could ever want! And it also means..."

As Nack said that, he took a small envelope out of the sweatband of his hat. Tearing it open a dozen small miniature zip-lock bags filled with a white powder fell out onto the table. Nack picked one of the up and observed it. Inside the "dime bag," as well as all the others, was some of the finest cocaine that could be bought from a drug dealer in all of the Station Square.

"We'll have access to all the _goodies_ we want."

"More like _you_ will. Me and Bark don't use that shit."

"Oh come of it, mate. I know you guys pop a few pills every now and then. Not to mention I've seen you both smoke a joint before."

"Yeah, we smoked weed _one time_, and we never did it again after we found out what it does to our lungs. Not to mention we damn near got our assed busted that time," Bean corrected.

"And the only pills we use are some light-weight steroids so that we win when we go to the fight club. All we do is try to make ourselves a little stronger. You just like making yourself crazy with that shit you use... like you did last night," Bark stated.

"Eh, what can I say mates. I feel like I'm on top of the world when I use this stuff. What do you guys get? Big muscles and little balls. Ya ain't gonna get any sheilas if you need a microscope to find ya balls. "

"Whatever. Just don't do what ya did last night, Nack. You scared the shit outta me and Bark."

"For _real_."

"I'll try, but no promises mates. But I _will_ make you this promise... by this toime tomorrow, our lives are gonna be down hill all the way. We'll have access to everything to become the biggest criminal kingpins in this city. And best of all, by this toime tomorrow noight, the bastard that's fucked everything up we've ever troied to do won't be a problem any more."

Nack picked up one of his revolvers and pointed it at a newspaper clipping of Sonic that had been covered in all kinds of hateful words and symbols. After pulling the trigger of the empty gun, the smile that crossed Nack's lips and the look that came about in the weasel's eyes could normally only be achieved by the devil himself.

"Tonoight... Sonic the Hedgehog... _doies_..."


	14. Shots in the Dark

**Author's Notes:**

It's been a whole month since I updated. I'm sorry that you've had to wait so long, but my classes this semester in college are very demanding. My education takes top priority, no exceptions.

I honestly don't know when the next update will be posted. With how my classes are, it's difficult to say when I'll get to work on the next chapter. Just know that I'll work on it when I can.

Lastly, this story is now rated** "M"** for the following reasons:

- Language, drug use, blood, death, and violence.

As you know I said that somebody would not make it out of this chapter alive. Let me clarify something: **THREE CHARACTERS AREN'T GONNA BE LIVING AFTER THIS CHAPTER. **

* * *

**C****hapter 14** - Shots in the Dark

7:00 P.M. had come in Station Square and the light was fading fast in the city. The Team Chaotix detectives had just returned to their headquarters following an afternoon-long search for new leads on their current case, a search that once again turned up little to nothing new or solid to go on. With a cloud of gloom over their heads, they all let dropped their dossiers, files, and and cases full of evidence into a cluttered heap on their work table then slouched on the nearest furniture they could find.

"Well... that... well it... it was... it..." Mighty said as he laid upon a sofa, trying to find the right words.

"Was a complete failure?" Espio asked from a nearby chair.

"Sucked?" Charmy added while yawning, lying on a black beanbag chair on the floor.

"It's somewhere in between those two, probably leaning a bit closer to that it sucked."

"Something is not right. No case has ever done this before. Either we're becoming more incompetent as detectives, or this case goes far deeper than we think it does. I'm thinking it's the latter of the two," Espio said in deep ponder.

"For a second there I thought you were going to say it was our fault."

"Why would I do that, Mighty? So far we've gone about this case like we would every other one and yet we've still yet to find _anything_ solid to go on. In my opinion, the reason for this is because whoever committed this felony did not want anybody to know about it. Only those involved in the most sinister of crime syndicates go to this length to cover up what they have done and what their connections are."

"It's certainly possible, but since we still have little to no evidence, we can't even confirm if _that_ is true."

"What do you make of this, Vector?" Espio asked.

In the far corner of the room Vector sat in a recliner chair, his right arm and hand pushing against his face to keep it from hanging low. The frustration, confusion, and maybe even a little depression were all obvious by the look on his face.

"With all the cases we've taken and all the criminals we've put behind bars, you'd think a grand theft auto case would be a sinch... Never... never did I think it would come to this."

"What are you talking about?" Mighty asked.

"... I think we might have to turn this case over the S.S.P.D. full time."

Neither Espio nor Mighty expected this answer. Charmy probably wouldn't have either, but he'd already fallen asleep on his beanbag chair.

"Vector, you can't possibly be serious!"

"I am, Mighty. Clearly we're not getting anywhere with this case. I'd rather give this one up to the S.S.P.D. and let them take care of it so we could take on something else that we might be more successful in solving."

"We can't give up on this case, Vector! We just can't! We've _never_ given up on a case!"

"There's a first time for everything, Mighty. Looks like this is one of those times."

"I won't allow that to happen," Espio said affirmatively, getting to his feet. "We are not abandoning this case until it is solved."

"Espio... did I not have a talk with you earlier today?"

"Yes, you did... but I feel that giving up on this case so suddenly is a poor decision."

Vector's look changed from gloom to menacing. He'd had enough of Espio's attitude and challenges of his decisions. Seeing that he was pushing his luck, Espio decided to take a chance and see if he could salvage what he was trying to prove.

"I can explain why I feel the way I do."

"... Alright Espio. Let's have it."

"Thank you Vector. It's obvious the evidence on this case is scarce when it comes to the scene of the crime and those who were affected by it. To continue looking into those areas will continue to give us only thin, fickle leads that won't allow us to move on."

"So what are you suggesting?" Mighty asked.

"I suggest we look elsewhere for more evidence. Clearly if we're going to find anything we need to look into the past."

"Are you saying that we should look into criminals and cases we've already dealt with for our answers?" the armadillo asked.

"Exactly! I'm sure that if we look over our past records we could find something that might help us."

Mighty looked convinced that this was a good idea. Turning to Vector, the croc. was deep in thought.

"All points considered, I think at this point anything is worth a try. I just have one request... Can we get something to eat first? I'm so hungry I've got a headache."

"DID SOMEBODY SAY FOOD!" Charmy yelled, waking up all of a sudden.

"Well, guess we don't have a choice now," Vector joked.

"I'll go get the take-out menus!" Charmy squealed, buzzing into the kitchen.

"And I'll make sure he doesn't destroy the room in doing so," Mighty added, following the bee's path.

In the absence of the other two detectives, Espio glanced over at his captain and made eye contact. It was hard to interpret what Vector was thinking. He looked pleased, yet betrayed at the same time. Espio knew then that this gamble better pay off because if it didn't he'd probably be out of his job.

* * *

Later on at Manic's the group was on a break period after their hour dinner break. The idea was that this was going to serve as a "dry run" for tomorrow night so they would wait until 8:00 P.M. to start. The only absentees were Silver and Tails. Silver wanted to pay Blaze a visit and give her a break from guarding the Master Emerald for Knuckles. Therefore, Tails picked up Silver and took him to the island to pick up Blaze and then went back to visit with Cosmo. Naturally, Knuckles was not happy about the Master Emerald being unguarded, an issue that had been brought up numerous times already and was coming back again.

"Tails should have been back by now. Something had to have happened to the Master Emerald," Knuckles said, rubbing his fists together.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Tails rigged the damn thing with electric force fields and laid enough land mines to blow the island in half! Do you _really_ think anybody is gonna be _that_ stupid or desperate to try and steal it?"

"You know I can't take chances, Sonic. If anything happens to the Master Emerald I'll have no choice to abandon you guys and take care of the problem."

"Just chill-ax, Knux. I'm sure that they got Blaze back in place as fast as they could and that everything's cool."

"I hope so."

"If it'll make you shut up I'll call Tails right now and see if everything is alright," Manic said, getting fed up with Knuckles' complaining.

"Do it."

Manic took out his phone and dialed up Tails' number. He also set it to speaker phone so that if Knuckles wanted to say or ask anything he could do it easier.

_"Yeah, what's up Manic?"_

"Silver? Where's Tails?"

_"He's a bit busy right now."_

"Doing what?" Manic asked.

"Maybe he's heading for home base with Cosmo," Sonic joked.

Before Silver could answer there was a loud whirring sound in the background, directly followed by a loud explosion over the phone. A stream of obscenities and swears poured from Silver's mouth as Knuckles grabbed the phone away from Manic.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON THERE! IS SOMEBODY TRYING TO GET THE MASTER EMERALD!" the echidna shrieked.

_"Wait a damn minute, here's Tails! Holy shit that was loud!"_

_"Yeah, who's there!"_ Tails shouted angrily.

"It's Knuckles! Who's messing with the Master Emerald!"

_"Nobody's messing with your stupid rock! Now let me talk to Manic!"_

Knuckles tossed the phone back to Manic, a bit pissed at Tails calling the Master Emerald a rock.

"I'm here Tails. You're on speaker."

_"We're in big trouble. I used my vertical take-off thrusters to land on the island when one of the turbines started to malfunction. Before I could shut the power systems down the compressor blades caused damage to the avionics, electronics, and control system wires running through the body, not to mention is sliced right through my main fuel lines and hydraulic systems! I tried to put a band-aid fix on them but when I tired to re-fire the engine just now the damn fan blades broke completely off and got sucked into the internal engine mechanisms resulting in a catastrophic system failure of a primary turbojet, rendering any type of departure an unattainable reality!"_

"Woah woah woah, you wanna put that in plain English, Tails!" Sonic shouted.

_"An engine on my X-Tornado just got FUBAR so we can't take off, let alone fly!"_

Needless to say the whole room was aware of what was going on now and they figured out this was the last thing they needed. The plan had been to use the X-Tornado's surveillance systems to assist in photographing the locations and/or vehicles researched earlier in the day. That, however, was no longer possible.

"Shit! Are you _sure_ it can't be fixed?"

_"Are you kidding me, Manic? Didn't you hear that loud boom a second ago? That was the engine blowing apart! There's a hole the size of the Space Colony A.R.K. in the side of the jet! I can't just fix a problem like that with duct tape and popsicle sticks, ya know!"_

"Dammit! Now what the hell are we gonna do!" Manic shouted.

"Th-th-this whole s-s-s-situation h-has t-t-t-turned in-in-into t-t-total c-c-chaos!" Ray squeaked nervously.

_"What did you just say?" Tails asked._

"W-w-who... m-me?"

_"Yeah... did you say chaos?"_

"Y-yes...chaos."

Over the speaker Tails whispered something and they heard Silver used his PK powers to fly around to do something. Ray looked quite puzzled, as did everybody else. There was a thud as Silver landed back next to Tails.

_"Three count?" Tails asked._

_"Three count."_

_"One... two... three... CHAOS CONTROL!" they shouted in tandem._

The cell phone became disconnected and for a few moments nothing happened. Then, a bright white and yellow aura formed right in the middle of the room and second later, Tails and Silver appeared from the lights.

"Ray... you might be as yellow as your fur, but you certainly have your moments," Tails said.

"Dude, that's freaking brilliant! Why the hell didn't I think of that before?" Manic shouted excitedly.

"Because you're a dumbass, perhaps?" the fox joked.

"Tails... you can use chaos control?" Sonic asked incredulously.

"Isn't it obvious? I know what you're thinking, and yes I know I used to not be able to do it. Guess I was just a little too young."

"Then let's see here... You, Silver, Knuckles, Shadow, and I can use chaos control now."

"I can so, like, use it too," Sonia added.

"Same here dude."

"WHAT!" Sonic said, facing his siblings. "When the hell did this happen!"

"You seem to forget that the three of us came from the same uterus, dude, plus we-"

"Like, oh my god! Do you always have to be so grody!"

"Shut it, sis. Like I was saying, seems you forgot we came from the same place and that we're all fraternal twins. We've had the same powers as you all along, we just didn't discover them."

All of a sudden a whole new concept hatched in Sonic's brain. It appeared that their transportation issue had been solved.

"That means there's seven of us that can use chaos control... there's seven that can't... and there's seven chaos emeralds... That's it... THAT'S _IT!_... If we pair up in seven teams of two, we can teleport our way around!" Sonic exclaimed.

It took only but a few seconds for everybody to agree that this was indeed a fantastic plan. With the help of the chaos emeralds, they could all go anywhere at anytime in a fraction of a second. With that plan, Tails and Silver teleported briefly back to the floating island to retrieve the rest of the chaos emeralds, secure the broken down X-Tornado, grabs some gear from the jet, check on Blaze one more time, then returned back to Manic's home in the city.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Tails. This is one hell of a good idea you came up with," Sonic commented.

"Don't thank me, thank Ray. He's the one that made me think of it in the first place."

"You're right. Thanks Stutters," Sonic joked, ruffling the hair on Ray's head.

"Guess I'm good for something," he responded.

"Alright, it's almost 8:00 P.M. It's time to get our asses in gear. I'll send all of you the locations of the ladies. Once you've gotten the shots of one, I have a program that will automatically mark it off on my laptop and it will auto-update all of your lists on your MARIA communicators Tails gave you," Manic instructed.

"Like we discussed, consider this a dry run. Get pictures of the cars and anything about the surroundings you think might be important to remember. Any questions?"

"Oui... umm, zis chaos control... eez eet beeng painful?" Antoine asked nervously.

"More than you can even imagine," he answered, earning him squeaks of fright from both Antoine and Ray. "I'm just kidding! You guys know me better than that! No, it doesn't hurt."

"I'd like to make a comment," Shadow announced. "I have no doubt that using chaos control will greatly reduce the time we need to travel. However, chaos control does produce a lot of light that could give away our positions. Just be mindful of where you decide to teleport to so that suspicion is not created."

"Point taken, Shadow. Anything else?... No?... Then pick your partner and favorite color emerald."

Everybody did so ad they were ready to go. The seven duos held up the emeralds and prepared to depart.

"Let's scout em," Sonic said. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

* * *

Across town there was a different scouting of ladies going on. Nack was laying on the slanted roof of the hideout building with his new sniper rifle, checking to make sure the scope was working. He ended up spying on a group of human women through a window of a house blocks away. He sat breathing heavy and muttering pleasurable words to himself as he watched them. It was a short-lived occurrence though when the blinds of the house were shut. With a growl of disappointment, the perverted weasel returned into the house where Bean and Bark were watching a poor copy of cheesy 80's XXX movie on an old VCR and a malfunctioning TV set.

"What took ya so long?" Bark asked.

"Just watchin' the sheilas, mate."

"You mean like you do every night?" Bean joked.

"It's a better show than the boring shit you guys watch over and over."

"At least this is legal."

"Whateva, Bean. If watchin' that crap turns ya on, all the power to ya."

Nack took the time to reattach the scope to his rifle and make sure that it was still okay. Seeing that it was, he looked at the clock and decided it was far too early to head out for their mission. However, it was not too early for Nack to do something else that he always did before going out on an assassination mission.

"You blokes just chill. I'm gonna go take care of something."

"I think by now we know what you're gonna do, Nack."

Nack ignored the polar bear's commented and proceeded to a room that had a mattress that served as Nack's bed. Laying down upon it, Nack removed his hat and and laid it aside for the moment, then took out one of the dime bags of cocaine from the envelope. A grin peeled across the weasel's lips at the mere thought of the euphoric trip he was about to take part on.

"Toime to escape reality for a little whoile..." he said to himself.

Over the course of Nack's addiction to cocaine he'd developed his own method of taking the drug. Earlier Nack had removed the bullet head and gun powder from a shell and cleaned it out. With the shell in his fingers, Nack dumped a little cocaine into it and secured it just inside his right nostril. Then, in one quick motion, he threw his head back while snuffing at the same time, insufflating the drug up into his mucous membranes.

"Oh yeah... oh _yeah_... Good stuff..."

After several quick repetitions of this action into both nostrils two entire bags had been emptied. Most would say this was taking too much, but due to the tolerance he'd built up Nack had to take this much to get the effect he liked. Laying down on the bed, the weasel relaxed as the effects began to take over. For a few minutes he felt restless and giggled spontaneously, but at about fifteen minutes his heart throbbed in his chest as a deep sense of euphoria came over him. There was a distant look in the weasel's eyes and an unconscious smile forced itself upon his lips.

"Heh... Hehehehe!... Feels _good_... Hehe... Gonna kill Sonic... Kill.. _Kill..._ **_Killllllllllll!_**... Hehehehehe... So _happyyyyyyyyyyy!_ Hehehehe!..." Nack said in his heavily drugged state.

This effect lasted about an hour, making it about 9:00 P.M. Nack, however, felt it was too early to leave and told his teammates they were going to wait more. In reality, it was a half lie. It was a bit early, but Nack wanted more of the drugs. He repeated the same process as before and enjoyed another hour of euphoria. Now that it was getting on towards the ten o'clock region, Nack felt it was time to get ready and head out.

"It's about fucking time!"

"Bean, shut up..." Bark whispered. "Remember last night?"

"Stop whispering, mate. I can hear ya."

"Then hear this. If you start going crazy again me and Bark are gonna ditch."

"Is that so? Tell me, where ya gonna go if ya ditch? The two of you blokes comboined ain't got even a quarter of my intelligence. And you're both broke. And that's not to mention if you guys leave me loike that, you know what _will_ happen."

"Yeah, you'd _supposedly_ hunt us down and snipe our asses out of existence. You now how long you've been saying that and not done it, Nack? Personally I think you're full of shit," Bark stated.

"Full of shit? Let me tell ya something, Bean. You too, Bark. You two oughta know by now I don't fuck around. When I say that I'll do something, I do it. If you two ditch on me tonight, on perhaps the most important task we've ever taken, I'll kill you along with Sonic... _Got that?_"

The effects of the cocaine hadn't fully worn off yet and the look Nack gave his associates was enough for both of them to shut up and not say anything else stupid.

"I thought so. Now... here's my plan. We'll head over to Manic's place because I'm pretty sure Sonic will be with him. When we get there I'll stake out a good vantage point. I'll make damn sure Sonic goes down with one shot, along with everybody else in there. If anybody escapes, you two will chase them down in the Jeep and kill them with my revolvers. There can be no witnesses left aloive, got that? _None_. Any questions?"

Bean and Bark shook their heads no. Without another words, Nack handed the weapons over to his comrades and told them to take them to the truck. As they did that, Nack went back and secretly grabbed the rest of his drugs, hiding them all in the sweatband of his hat. As he headed out to his Jeep, thoughts of what was about to happen played through Nack's mind, and he enjoyed every bit of them.

_"Hope you've cleansed yourself of your sins, Sonic, because if you haven't... you're going to hell..." _he thought mischievously.

* * *

About a half hour later things were wrapping up at Manic's home. At this point, everything was pretty much set. All one hundred vehicles had been located, identified, photographed, and examined. All that was pretty much left was to steal them tomorrow night. Though everybody had been quite worn out from the long day of searching, they were quite pleased to find that traveling via Chaos Control was the way to go. Not only had it shaved hours off of their dry run photo shoot, but it also made it easier to infiltrate populous areas or sneak around high security areas.

By now mostly everybody had left for the night, naturally using the chaos emeralds for easiness. Knuckles and Julie had gone back to the floating island along with Silver so he could pick up Blaze and bring her home. Tails went back to his house with Cosmo, Shadow and Rouge back to the club, and Sonia dropped off Bunnie before going to her own home. Since Chuck nor Rotor could use Chaos Control, they'd hitched a ride with Antoine when he left in his car. That left only Sonic, Manic, and Ray at the house.

"Maaaaaaaaaan... what a long-ass day..." Manic said lazily while yawning.

"But there's still one more t-to g-go..."

"Ray, are you ever _not_ nervous?"

"Of course, Manic."

"When?"

"When I'm not involved in a major crime operation, for starters."

"I know that, dumbass. I mean any other time."

"Well... there is one other time when nothing bothers me..."

Ray seemed to become shy as he said this, a theory backed up by his bashful facial expression and blush on his cheeks.

"Alright Ray, let's have it. You know I'll run you around town at full speed if you don't tell us," Sonic insisted.

"...Cream..."

"**SAY _WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!_**"

As their casual conversation continued inside, none of them were aware of the black Jeep that had pulled up a nearby alleyway moment ago. As Bark and Bean sat in the Jeep with Nack's revolvers, the aforementioned weasel had taken up a sniper position on a set of fire escape stairs on an abandoned building down the block form the house. Nack loaded the SVD with it's ten-round magazine and clicked off the safety. Peering through the illuminated scope Nack surveyed the house, looking to see who was inside it. Nack held up three fingers then a thumbs up to his mates, meaning that there were three occupants and Sonic was one of them. Knowing his chance was coming soon, Nack kept his eye to the sights.

"So yeah... since I've been with Vector so much in my training, Cream and I have seen a lot of each other. She thinks I'm funny, I think she's cute, she developed a crush on me and... so did I..." Ray admitted.

"Well I'll be damned... Ray in love...," Manic said.

"Didn't think you had it in ya," Sonic joked.

"Heh... I guess I did. But what I don't have is... yawn... the ability to stay awake much longer."

"Same here. How bout it Manic, you wanna call it a night?"

"Yeah, might as well. I'll take Ray home, but I want you to come with me dude. There's this awesome place that sells every flavor and type of beer you can imagine. I want ya to come and pick one out with me. You cool with that?"

"Ehhhh... yeah, sure."

"Alright. Let me grab my keys."

Nack watched as Manic left his field of view. Ray currently had his back facing and was not in line for a shot, but Sonic was in full view. Nack carefully placed the sights right between Sonic's green eyes. With his heart thumping in his chest, the murderous weasel grinned in excitement as his finger began to squeeze the trigger. The metal lever became more and more difficult to pull as it neared the point where it would release the internal mechanisms to fire the bullet into its unsuspecting target.

"Let's go guys," Manic said to the others.

"I call shotgun!" Sonic shouted playfully.

Just as quickly as it had come, it had gone. In a blue flash, Nack watched as his perfect shot through the window vanished. In the pit of his gut a white hot flame burned as the weasel bared his teeth and let a low, canine growl emanate from deep within his throat. From down below, Bean had whistled up, obviously concerned about the fact that the house had just gone dark and there had been no gunshot. Lost in his anger, Nack ignored the call, concerning himself only with getting another opportunity to do the deed.

"Oh yeah, sing to me girl!" Manic said enthusiastically as he started up his beloved Camaro.

"Is that what you say when you're in bed with Amy?" Sonic teased.

"Would you get over that already! We're in love with each other, remember? That's what lovers do!"

"Yeah...," Sonic said a bit suspiciously, trying to shake the bad memories of his own love to Sally.

"You alright dude?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course!"

"Yeah, _sure_. I know when something is on your mind."

"Isn't it obvious? It's this damn job."

"I know you don't want to hear this dude, but you gotta stay cool with this. Take it from me, I know. If you go into this all tense and not thinking straight then something will go wrong."

"Yeah, your right... I think a good night's sleep and a cold one will help with that."

"Good answer."

Manic pushed a button on a remote that automatically opened the garage door. Once it had opened, Manic shifted his car into first gear and slowly began to pull out. However, when he tried to shut the garage door automatically, it jammed.

"Dammit! Not again!," Manic shouted, shifting his car back into neutral.

The trio had no idea that Nack was now targeting them again, in particular Sonic. Currently, Sonic was looking over the back of his seat at his brother, which prevented any good shots for Nack. Never the less, the weasel kept his sights on his target, waiting to strike at the opportune moment.

"I'm sick of that damn thing jamming!"

"Then why don't you fix it, bro?"

"Because I've been working on my car's clutch recently. That's a bit more important than a door."

"What's a clutch?"

Manic looked at his brother in disbelief. Little did he or Sonic know that down the block an unseen sniper was seconds away from pulling the trigger of his rifle.

"Don't you know how to drive a stick shift car?"

"Of course!... Well, not really. I mean, I know _what_ you have to do to drive one, I just haven't practiced it much."

"Shit!... Guess I'm gonna have to give you a crash course on how to do that tomorrow."

"What's the big deal?."

"I just got this car running the way I like it and now you're gonna destroy my transmission because you're gonna stall my car a hundred times."

"How do you stall a manual car?"

"Dammit... like this..." Manic said unenthusiastically.

Manic shifted into first and released the car's clutch pedal with no gas applied, stalling the engine. This made the car lurch forward violently and throw it's passengers forward. The exact moment this happened, Nack fired his rifle. The bullet whizzed through the air at super-sonic speed and shot straight through both the passenger and driver's windows, completely shattering them, just missing those in the front seats. Everybody in the car looked around in confusion at the sudden breaking of the windows and loud bang they'd heard.

"What the _fuck_!" Manic screamed, looking at his busted window.

"What the hell was_ that_!" Sonic added, looking at the same thing on his side.

Neither hedgehog saw Nack lining up for another shot, but Ray, with his well-trained eyes from the classes he'd taken, had spotted the muzzle flash. Knowing the another shot had to be less than a second away, Ray lurched forward and grabbed onto the shoulders of the hedgehog's in the front seat, pulling them down out of a clear shot. Sure enough, another bullet screamed through the air and struck the head rest of Sonic's seat, which a moment ago was blocked by his head. Knowing full well who it was and what was going on, Sonic knew that to stay put meant certain death.

"Manic, get us out of here!" Sonic yelled as another shot wedged into the car's hood.

"What's the hell is going on, dude!"

"If you don't get us moving you won't find out!"

In a heartbeat, Manic had the engine turned on again and blindly started to speed away. Knowing they were trying to escape, Nack used his rifle's iron sights and emptied the remaining shots as he could. Having been signaled by Nack, Bark and Bean opened fired with the revolvers that had been given to them. Since all the shots weren't well aimed, many of them missed their target and struck other locations. A few of them did hit the fleeing car, but neither the passengers nor the tires were hit.

"Dammit, **shit**, _**fuck!**_" Nack swore loudly.

Roaring with frustration, Nack jumped from the staircase and used his springy tail to help him land. Once on the ground he dove into the back seat and ordered Bean to open the vehicle's sunroof. Bark got the Jeep started up and sped away as Nack reloaded his rifle. Once his weapon was ready to go he stood up through the open sunroof so he could aim his rifle out of it. He also threaded his long tail into the seat belts behind him to keep himself a bit more stable. Now comfortable in his stance, Nack brought his rifle up out of the sunroof and into his arms, ready to start shooting as soon as they caught up to their targets.

"**Ready or not, here I come you fuckers!**" Nack declared at the top of his lungs.

* * *

A few blocks away Manic's Camaro skidded around a corner as they tried to put as much distance between them and the killers behind them.

"What the hell just happened!" Manic yelled.

"It's Fang! He's back to finish what he started with me last night!"

"But why's he trying to kill me or Ray! We didn't do anything!"

"This is Fang we're talking about here! I don't really think he gives a damn!"

"So what the hell are we gonna do, dude!"

"You're the one driving! Can't we outrun him?"

"Are you kidding me! We're in an old Camaro IROC-Z! He's got a Grand Cherokee SRT8! My car might be fast, but not enough to outrun him!"

"Damn! Alright, Ray! Can you reach Vector at this time?"

"I d-d-d-d-d-d-on't know, but I'll t-t-t-t-t-t-t-ry!"

Ray pulled out his small cellphone from an inside pocket and tried to keep his hands form shaking as he desperately tried to dial the number to their only hope of being helped. Behind them, however, a pair of headlights rounded a bend and started racing towards them.

* * *

"Are we done yet?"

Charmy's complaint pretty much summed up how they were all feeling. For many hours now they'd followed Espio's advice and looked through old crime and criminal records looking for any clues they could. Just like everything else they'd followed, this had turned up little to nothing.

"I've been staring at papers for so long my eyes feel like they're gonna fall outta my head..." Mighty said, exhausted.

"Vector... I know this was my idea and I admit that I made the wrong move..." Espio confessed.

"It's better than what I came up with, Espio, which was jack squat..." Vecotr admitted.

"So where do we go from here?"

"Honestly Mighty... I don't have a damn clue..."

"You're not going to... give up on the case... are you?"

"As much as I hate to say it, Espio... I think so."

"Wait! What about you little last ditch ritual!" Charmy shouted.

"That's just make believe, Charmy."

"Aw, come on Vector! It's worth a shot!"

"...Alright... fine... I WISH FOR A SIGN ON WHERE TO LOOK TO SOLVE THIS CASE," Vector said loudly, slowly, and clearly into mid air.

Not more than a second later, the phone on the table rang. The detectives all looked at each other, as if trying to confirm that the ridiculous action had come true.

"Well, let's see if it worked..." Vector said, reaching for the speaker phone feature on the phone's base."Team Chaotix Detective Agency, Detective Vector speaking."

The sounds of speeding engines, squealing tires, and gunshots came over the speaker. Everybody more or less dismissed the likeliness of this being a serious call and started to give up hope.

"Like I thought, a prank call," Vector said depressingly.

Just as Vector reached to push the hang-up button, a scream came out of the speaker. Mighty's eyes flew open as he stopped Vector's hand and leaned closer to the phone.

"RAY!"

_"M-M-MIGHTY!"_

"Ray, what's going on!" Vector shouted in concern.

_"W-W-WE'RE UNDER AT-T-T-TACK!"_

"By who!" the croc asked.

The loud sound of a bullet striking metal, followed by another scream from Ray filled the room.

"RAY! RAY ARE YOU THERE!"

_"Vector, it's Sonic!"_ the hedgehog said, having snatched Ray's phone from him.

"Sonic! What the hell is going on!"

_"A certain purple weasel with excellent sniper skills is chasing us and trying to kill us, that's what's going on!"_

All four detectives looked around at each other in disbelief. Only minutes ago they'd looked at a file on Nack which had said he was reported dead years ago. Now, however, it seemed that file was wrong.

"Nack! Are you sure it's him! We have reports that say he's been dead for years!"

_"Considering I had a rather painful run in with him last night and he just tried to kill us at Manic's house, I'd say he's anything but dead!"_

"You saw him last night! Why didn't you contact me!"

_"I don't have time to go into it! Vector, listen, Nack's in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and he's got a semi-auto sniper rifle! There's also-"_

Sonic's answer was delayed by screeching tires and multiple gunshots, a few of which struck and ricocheted off of the car.

"Sonic, are you still there!"

_"Dammit Vector, shut up and send as many police as you can to keep this son-of-a-bitch from blowin' our asses into the next world!" Manic shouted into the phone._

"Alright, just hang on! We're on our way!"

Nobody needed to be told what to do next. Everybody instinctively made a run for Vector's squad car and piled into it as fast as possible. Once inside, Vector placed the removable police light on the dashboard of his car and flicked a switch that engaged the car's siren as they peeled away from their headquarters. Knowing that they would need as much help as possible, Vector grabbed the microphone for the police radio installed in the dashboard.

"Attention all units on this channel, this is unit One-Baker-Eleven! We have a report of two civilians and an officer-in-training fleeing a pursuing gunman in vehicular pursuit! We have confirmation of at least one gunman, possibly more! The suspect is Nack the Weasel, AKA Fang the Sniper! The suspects vehicle is a black Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and his location is somewhere in the downtown area near the Station Square Harbor and Docks! He is armed and considered extremely dangerous! Shots have been fired, so use caution was approaching! The suspect must be stopped at all costs! Apprehend if possible, but do not hesitate to use force, lethal if necessary!" Vector announced over the police radio.

Taking the quickest routes he knew at the speed they were going, Vector could potentially intersect the chase in about ten minutes, but with how things were going, it could be just ten seconds until something happened to the innocent lives at stake.

* * *

The situation was getting desperate for those in the chase. The multiple gunshots to Manic's car were causing various malfunctions and the engine was overheating from the abuse it was taking. Not only that, but the tires, which were old to begin with, were handling suspiciously and were running rougher than they had initially. Plus, Nack's shots were getting better in their aim and dodging them was becoming difficult.

"She can't take this much longer!" Manic yelled.

"Just a little longer, bro! Help's on the way!"

No sooner had Sonic said that then the sounds of nearby sirens echoed up and down the streets. As they grew louder, Nack and his comrades came to realize that they were running out of time if they were to escape. Behind them, Nack's Jeep suddenly broke off from the chase and turned down another street.

"They're gone..." Sonic said, relieved.

"Thank g-g-g-g-g-g-oodness!" Ray stuttered.

To both of their surprise, Manic suddenly turned left onto a street that went the same direction Nack had just gone.

"What the hell are you doing, bro!"

"The last thing we need is for this asshole to be lurking around tomorrow night! I'm not going to go through tomorrow night having to keep looking around for a sniper and wonder if every time I come around a corner I'll be shot!"

"Are you nuts! Just let the cops take care of it!"

"Hell no! We're gonna chase that bastard down and make sure he's caught!"

"Oh no we're not!"

"Yes we are!"

"No we're_ not_!"

"Yes we _are_!"

"NO WE'RE NOT!"

"YES WE ARE!"

"**LOOK OOOOOOUUUUUUT!**" Ray shrieked.

Due to their bickering, the two of them had momentarily forgotten about the speed they were driving at and ht fact that they wee in a high-speed chase. Nack's Jeep had come barreling through the intersection they had just started to pass through themselves, a pair of police cruisers behind it. The two cars were approaching each other at perpendicular angles. There was no time to react.

* * *

Though they made their way to the approximate location of the chase in record time, it still felt as though it had taken an eternity to get there. Vector had just reached for the microphone to ask if any other officers had caught up with the chase when a disturbing transmission from the S.S.P.D. dispatch came over the radio.

_"All units responding to the pursuit near the docks, a T.A. between the two vehicles involved in the chase has been reported by officers on scene. Paramedics have been notified and are on their way."_

"Dispatch, this is One-Baker-Eleven. Are there any reports on the severity of the injuries or the T.A.?"

_"One-Baker-Eleven, negative on the injury reports. No details are available at this time, however on-sight reports are saying that both vehicles are totaled and there is high probability of fatalities at the scene."_

The microphone slipped out of Vector's hand from the shock of the last broadcast. There was an incredibly uncomfortable silence inside the squad car as they all realized that long times friends and a fellow detective may have been lost. Instinctively, Vector slammed the gas pedal to the floor to get to the scene as soon as possible. After another silent minute or so, they finally arrived to a swarm of police cars, paramedic vehicles, and even a fire truck or two. The first thing they became aware of was the fact that a fire hydrant had been hit, as there was a tower of water sprouting up into the air and raining down onto the street. Also, there was a street light missing in sequence, meaning that one of the vehicles must have taken it down when it crashed.

"I don't have a good feeling about this..." Mighty said in a tense tone as a squad car began to move out of the way.

Once the squad car moved out of the way, the hearts of all the detectives skipped a beat when they saw what had happened. One one side of the street, Nack's Jeep lay on it's roof, it's front all smashed in. Next to it was the broken hydrant, it's water cascading down all over it. Worst of all, the Jeep had crashed through the glass front window of a jewelry store and impaled itself into the outer wall of the same store.

That, however, was nowhere near as bad as what had become of Manic's car. The black Camaro's front end was demolished from the impact and had spun around multiple times. Even worse was that the downed street light had been hit by the rear end of the car as it slid down the road. The light had fallen down onto the roof of the car, thus crushing it and in turn preventing any escape from the inside.

"Oh my GOD!" Vector screamed, dashing out of his car.

The other detectives were quick to follow their leader to what was left of Manic's Camaro. Once there, Vector began pounding on the doors and seeing if anybody was still alive.

"Guys, it me! We're here! Are you alright!"

A hand reached out from a small section of the passenger window. Vector recognized it as Sonic's.

"Sonic! Are you hurt!"

"Just... get us out, Vector..."

Without even having to be told so, Mighty came over and, using his gift of incredible strength, he slowly and carefully pulled the street lamp off of the car and pulled the doors open. As this was happening, the human personnel on sight were perplexed at how easily the Mobians were saving the lives of those in the crash.

"What are you all staring at! Do something important, like checking the other vehicle perhaps!" Espio shouted, marching the cops over to investigate the wrecked Jeep.

With the Camaro clear of debris Mighty cautiously used his strength to peel the roof back open. As soon as he had bent it back open, Sonic and Manic became visible.

Mighty helped to pull the hedgehogs out of the car, though they could have done it under their own power. With an anxious look on his face, Mighty dove into the car, looking for Ray. He found the little squirrel in the back seat curled up in a tight ball, shaken, wet, and scared, but somehow barely injured. Looking up, Ray could barely utter a sentence he was stuttering to bad.

"Ray... you're alright... It's over..." Mighty said comfortingly, putting a hand on his long-time friend's shoulder.

A minute later Mighty and Ray joined back up with Sonic, Manic, Vector, and Charmy. Somehow, Ray had walked away with only minor scrapes or bruises, soreness, and damp fur from the leaking hydrant. Sonic and Manic also weren't injured seriously, but they clearly weren't unaffected.

"Well... that sucked..." Manic said with a bit of a groan.

"Tell me about it..." Sonic answered similarly.

"You

"But considering you're all walking away from a car crash that bad you're really lucky!,"Charmy squealed.

Sonic cracked a smile. "I hear ya. Luckily he only spun us around and we hit the pole. But if we'd just been a second later he woulda t-boned us and... I guess it woulda been lights out."

"It's a damn miracle, I'll tell ya that."

"Vector's right! A crash like that coulda killed you!" Mighty pointed out.

"I'd say that my Camaro counts as a fatality..." Manic said depressingly.

"Hey bro, last I checked you're still breathing. I think that's a bit more important than a damn car."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know..."

"M...Manic?... I'm sorry... It's my fault this h-happened... I should have told Vector about Nack when Sonic didn't..."

Everybody was surprised by Ray's honesty. Manic was especially effected, as he knew it was nowhere near Ray's fault. The same went for Sonic.

"Ain't nothing for you to be blaming yourself about, buddy. If it weren't for you, Manic and I would have a nice ventilation hole in our skulls right now. If anything, it's my fault for not telling Vector earlier that I'd seen Nack last night."

"Which by the way, all of you, I don't want you to do in the future. If there's every _anything _you need to tell me, do it right away. Okay?"

"No problemo, V," Sonic answered, shaking Vector's hand.

"Alright. Now if you don't mind I'm gonna get you an ambulance. I want you to go to the hospital just to get checked out to be safe, okay?"

The hedgehogs glanced at each other, both knowing that it might not be half bad to get away for a bit. They were, after all, currently in the presence of the one thing that could ruin their entire operation. They agreed and Vector made sure that another ambulance would arrive on scene just for them. As the two hedgehogs sat on the sidewalk the crash replayed in their heads. They were truly lucky to have lived.

"Sonic, I know you're feeling not so great, but I need to ask you something else."

"Shoot," Sonic answered, keeping his cool.

"What are you doing tomorrow around the lunch hour?"

"Uhh... I don't think I had anything planned... Did we bro?" Sonic asked, keeping his cool.

"Not that I know of, dude."

"My family was quite happy to hear that you were back in town and my daughter _begged_ for me to set up a lunch date with you. What do you say?"

"I say we hit the nearest chili dog stand come lunch time tomorrow."

"Excellent! My daughter will be thrilled!... Ahh, Espio. What didja find out?"

Espio had returned from investigating Nack's Jeep. The look on his face suggested something wasn't right.

"I'm afraid I have some startling news, Vector."

"Well don't hold it back from me. Let's have it."

"Bark the Polar Bear and Bean "The Dynamite" Duck are dead."

Everybody was indeed shocked at this news, mainly because Jeep hadn't crashed nearly as bad as the Camaro had. Not only that, but considering how much trouble those two had caused in the past, it was hard to imagine them not being alive to continue that trend any longer.

"_Dead_... are you sure?" Mighty asked.

"Positive. They are unresponsive and are showing no clear vital signs."

"Sucks to be them, I guess," Manic said, almost jokingly.

"But what about Nack?" Sonic asked.

"Vanished."

"What! How!" Vector asked.

"Nack was not found in the Jeep nor inside the damage building. He must have somehow survived."

"Son-of-a-bitch! I can't believe that asshole is still on the loose!" Manic yelled angrily.

"Espio, did you find any guns in the Jeep?" Sonic asked.

"Negative."

Sonic began to look around wildly, checking rooftops, dark corners, alleys, and any other potential hiding space. Not finding Nack, Sonic knew that he couldn't be far as he was sure the weasel had been injured in the crash.

"We need to take cover, Vector. I think Nack is still nearby, and if he's got his guns he might try to-"

"**SNIPER!**" a human police officer called out.

That sentence was barely finished when a high-powered rifle shot from above rang out across the scene and a bullet ricocheted off the street near Sonic and the others. Along with all the other personnel on scene, the Chaotix and hedgehog brothers took cover. Mighty took Ray and Charmy safely behind an ambulance a few feet away while Vector pulled Espio behind his black squad car. Unfortunately, Sonic and Manic could only pile up behind the wrecked Camaro, which did not offer much protection.

Up above, Nack had taken up a sniper position on the ledge of the roof of the building his Jeep had smashed into. Unlike Sonic and the others, Nack had been hurt by the crash. He was bleeding heavily from several open wounds that still had chunks of glass stuck in them, he had a number broken bones in his body, and most notable was the loss of his over-sized tooth. Somehow, however, Nack seemed oblivious to the pain he was in.

"**DOIE, SONIC! DOIE, CHAOTIX! DOIE _EVERYBODY! _****! **" the weasel shrieked into the night.

Nack started firing not only at where Sonic was hiding, but also at the other officers and paramedics on scene. The sounds of metal being pierced and windows shattered directly accompanied the rifle shots that were being shot haphazardly.

"What hell is wrong with him, dude! How can he be standing in his condition!" Manic shouted.

"I don't have a clue! It's like he's lost his damn mind!"

**"COME ON, SONIC! SHOW YOUR FACE! WHAT ARE YOU... SCARED OF LITTLE OLD ME!"** Nack screamed from above.

"Why don't you give me a good reason to come out, Fang!" Sonic shouted.

**"HOW ABOUT SOME OF THE BEST COCAINE IN THE WORLD? OH, I FORGOT, YOU'RE A GOOD GUY! YOU WOULDN'T DO THAT! DOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!"**

Another shot sailed just inched over Sonic and Manic's hiding place into the wall a few feet behind him.

"Sonic, Manic, stay down! Nack's a known cocaine addict, and from the looks of things, he's taken enough of it for ten people! It's probably why he's not feeling the pain he's in!" Vector shouted from behind his car.

**"COME ON, SONIC! I DON'T WANT MY HOIGH TO WEAR OFF BEFORE I KILL YOU!"** Nack screamed from above.

"Great... now what do we do?" Sonic said.

"Dude, I got an idea... take off your left shoe."

"What are you gonna do, throw it at him?"

"No. I want the printed car list."

"Are you nuts? Look at all the police around here! We can't have them finding this on us!"

"Just listen... Here's how I look at it. There's no way Nack's getting out of this alive. Either one of these officers is gonna shoot him, or the O.D. of cocaine he's on right now will kill him. That means with him, Bean, and Bark all dead, we can use that to our advantage."

"Bro, are you sure you didn't hurt your head in that crash? Your not making a damn bit of sense."

"Dead men tell no tales, Sonic. Once Nack is dead, if we can plant this list on him somehow it'll make it seem it was his doing. That'll take all the heat off of us."

"But then the cops will know which cars to watch."

"How stupid do you think I am, dude? I'm not gonna put the whole list in there, I'm gonna tear it up and dump a few shreds in it, the rest I'll keep and get rid of later. That way they'll think it was him, but they won't have the whole thing. Not only that, but with all that water over there, the ink will be smudged beyond belief. Come on, dude. We gotta do this.

Sonic pondered this for a moment, his expression leaning towards saying no. A rifle shot that wedged itself into Manic's upturned car made them both duck down, as well as made Sonic change his mind.

"It's against my better judgment bro, but given everything else that's happened this week... fuck it."

"Awesome. So what's the plan?"

"Like you said, we need Nack out of the picture. Not only that, I don't want to see anybody else here get hurt. I'll go out and distract him. My hope is that when I do, somebody will nail him when I do what I'm about to do."

"It's not like you to wish death upon somebody."

"I know, but the way I look at it, it's either him or me, and I'm not dying tonight because of him."

"He's got guns, dude. How are you gonna avoid that?"

"Come on bro, I'm the fastest thief alive. This'll be nothing."

"Dude... that's thing... Fastest _Thing_ Alive..."

"...Yeah... right..." Sonic said, turning away in shame. "Alright, get ready. Three... two... one... HEY FANG, SEE IF YOU CAN HIT ME!"

Sonic jumped out from the behind the car in plain sight. He began to jump around at super-sonic speed as Nack continued to try to gun down his target. Meanwhile, Manic tore the car list up into little piece, choosing which pieces he'd keep and which he'd get rid of. For the most part, he was going to get rid of the pieces that had cars on it the cops already knew about and those that were more common and less easily tracked. Also at the same time, Vector was furious at Sonic's behavior.

"What the hell is Sonic doing! He's gonna get himself killed!"

"No he won't, Vector. Sonic's too smart and fast to be struck down by the likes of that maniac."

"Then why's he doing that!"

"It's a distraction... and I'm going to capitalize on it."

"What are you talking about, Espio?"

"Just open your trunk... please."

Suddenly Vector knew what his partner was talking about, and given the current dangers, he saw no alternative. Pushing the trunk release on his key fob, Espio slowly and cautiously made his way to the trunk of the vehicle and retrieved a black case. Opening it, Espio pulled out a black crossbow and a set of high-precision arrows with ultra-sharp barbed tips. Espio readied the weapon in complete silence, his face void of emotion.

"What's the matter, Nack? Too fast for you?"

"HA! I'LL SHOW YOU FAST!"

In a surprise move Nack sprung himself off the building and shot at Sonic while in midair. The move completely caught Sonic off guard, forcing him to make a run in the opposite direction while Nack prepared to charge from behind. His plan was to run up the side of the building Nack had just jumped from, but he made a crucial mistake. Having forgot about the water from the hydrant that was running down the wall, Sonic's feet got no traction and he slipped off. No sooner had he hit the ground he tried to get back up, but Nack had use his tail again to spring forward. The weasel struck Sonic with the rifle, forcing him to the ground, then placed the tip of the barrel on the back of Sonic's head while aiming in the same spot, ready to fire.

"HALT, OR I'LL KILL YOU!" Espio shouted.

Nack looked over his shoulder at the new voice. That split-second distraction was all Sonic needed. He kicked Nack in the groin, making him drop the PSL rifle and yelp, then tackled him into the street. In the struggle, Sonic managed to grab Nack's holstered revolvers and tossed them away. Enraged at having been disarmed, Nack wrapped his hands around Sonic's throat and tried to choke the life out of him. Though Sonic tried to fight him off, the drugs in Nack's system made his have stamina and strength beyond what seemed possible. Worst of all, Espio could not get a good shot due to Nack and Sonic's positions.

"SAY GOODBOYE, SONIC! HEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Sonic's eyes began to roll into his head and his vision blurred, but even so he noticed a green blur coming at him. Looking up, he saw Nack get kicked away and a body landed next to him.

"SHOOT HIM ESPIO!" Manic shouted.

Alerted by Manic's cry, Nack glanced up and spotted Espio who had him clear in the sights of his crossbow's scope. It was too late to escape. A high-pitched whistle came from the arrow as it shot through the air in the darkness. With a horrible sound of flesh being cut, the arrow lodged itself into Nack's chest near his heart. This time Nack felt the pain. Blood poured from the wound as he tried to make words, but all that he could get out were grunts and cries of agony. Falling to his knees, Nack somehow clung to life for a second more to shoot a satanic glare at the hedgehog he'd fail to kill. Looking up, Sonic could think of only one thing to say.

"Goodbye... Fang..." Sonic gasped out.

Nack's teeth bared in disgust as the last bit of life left him. Coughing out a mouthful of blood his bloodshot eyes rolled into his head and he fell face first into the gutter of the street, ceasing to move. With the exception of the water still pouring down, the scene took on an eerie silence. Peering up, Sonic took a look at the now deceased criminal that for so long had brought pain and suffering to so many people. On one hand, he felt relieved that no longer he'd have to worry about him, but at the same time he would have preferred to see him go to prison for all that he'd done.

The water running through the gutter turned red from the blood of the defeated weasel as it washed by him. Then, as if it knew its master was dead, the old hat that Nack had worn for years rolled off his head and was carried away by the current and down into a storm drain. Laying his head back in exhaustion, Sonic heard his brother turn to him.

"We got him, dude... We got him."

Sonic could only utter a slightly grunt. The short period of time in which everything that had just happened took it's toll on Sonic. Exhaustion, stress, and a short deprivation of oxygen zapped Sonic of his remaining energy and his body could no longer go on. He felt himself slipping from consciousness, and he welcomed it. He knew he was going to need his strength and wits about him to get through tomorrow and the long night of crime that awaited him. Everything went dark and silent as Sonic passed out from the long, troublesome, and now deadly day.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

There ya go. I hope this will carry you for a while. I purposely made the ending abrupt so that I could have the action sequence be longer. I also hope it didn't have too many errors as I have been working much faster than usual to finish this.

Until the next update, please comment and/or make suggestions.


	15. A Few Quick Lessons

**Author's Notes**:

Two months... I can't believe that I've made y'all wait this long for an update. All I can say is that's what happens when you've had a college semester like I've had. It's been brutal. No joke.

Anyways, I want to say that this chapter originally was going to be a short filler chapter just to help ease back in to the storyline. Halfway though it, I ended up turning it into a development chapter that will help set up for things that will happen later on. I personally am not very happy with this chapter and I hate having to give you guys such a weak update after waiting so long, but all points considered it's a miracle I got this done before this semester ended, especially considering I'm right in the middle of finals.

That said, here's the **_long_** overdue chapter 15. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15** - A Few Quick Lessons

There was a moist, sweet smell that seemed to be everywhere. There were many strange sounds audible at that moment, a high-pitched hiss like a snake, a low growl, and several faint beacons. The atmosphere was cool, yet there was an envelope of warmth and a feeling of softness. Slowly, a faint glow began to pierce through and cause everything to have a faint red glow.

"Mmmmm... huh? Where am I?"

Sonic opened his eyes to an unfocused world. Blinking several times and rubbing his eyelids, everything slowly came into view. He was currently lying on a bed under a blanket in a hospital room, which explained the softness and warmth Sonic had felt. The hiss and smell was from an oxygen tube attached to his nose. The beacons were various monitors that had been measuring his vital signs. Lastly, the low growl was from none other than Manic, who was asleep in a chair in the corner of the room, snoring abnormally loudly.

_"Man... I wasn't beat up that bad, was I?"_ Sonic thought to himself.

Sitting up, Sonic detached the oxygen tube, since it was clear he could breathe perfectly fine. Though still a bit sore from the second beating he'd taken this week, he had to admit that he felt pretty good. In fact it was probably the best he'd felt all week since he hadn't been sleeping so well thinking about the events that had unfolded. On that thought, Sonic's mood dropped a few points as he made a realization. It was Thursday. That meant tonight would be the night when he as well as many of his closest friends would commit the biggest crime of their lives. Sonic glanced over at a digital clock on the wall. It was about 10 A.M., just about twenty hours before the deadline, and about ten hours before they would head out to steal property that many people had worked so hard to achieve. He let out a loud, deep sigh at this thought, loud enough that it made his brother stir.

"Mmph... Hmm?... Oh... hey dude..."

"Sup bro..."

"I was gonna ask you that."

"I'm cool. Physically, at least."

Sonic leaned back on the bed, recalling what had happened up until the point where he passed out.

"So... what happened after I passed out?"

"Vector had you put into the ambulance that was on scene. I stayed behind for a bit because I had to ditch the list somehow."

"How... how did you do that?" Sonic asked, lowering his voice.

"Well, it actually went better than I'd planned. They wanted to have Nack's hat back, and me being comfortable with sewers, they opened up the drain it had gone into and let me go get it. When I found it, I soaked the list so that the ink smeared and the paper got all screwed up. Then I tucked it inside Nack's hat. When I gave it to Vector and the cops, that as the first thing they saw."

"And?"

"It went just as we planned. The authorities, including the Chaotix, think Nack and his pals were responsible for... you know..."

Sonic nodded his head slightly, though it was obvious he was still uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"It's not much of a cover, I know. But it's better than nothing."

"I know, I know... I just hate lying..."

"We did what we had to, dude. Besides, with Nack gone and the authorities looking the other way, we're pretty much good to go tonight."

"Yeah... thanks for reminding me..."

"Yeah, well... If you don't mind, I do have to ask you something. Two things, actually."

"Shoot."

"You up for a little drive? I got us a car to teach you to drive stick on."

"From who?"

"Mina."

"Mina? Really?"

"Yeah. Vector drove me to the hospital after things quieted down a bit at the scene to see how you were doing. Just as we were pulling in, Mina just happened to drive by and see us. There was no point in lying so we told her what happened."

"So how'd you get her car?"

"Before they left I pulled Mina to the side and told her that I needed to teach you stick but couldn't since my Camaro got FUBAR. She gave me the keys and got a ride home with Vector."

"... Do you think she told anybody else?"

"I know she did. I asked her to. Quietly though."

"I knew you'd say that."

"They were gonna find out sooner or later."

"I know, but Mina was probably all upset when she spread the word so now everybody probably thinks I'm clinging to life or something."

"Moping about it isn't gonna help, dude... And on that note, you still fell comfortable with meeting up with Vector today?"

Sonic had honestly forgotten about the promise he'd made to have lunch with Vector and his family today.

"Damn... forgot all about that. Guess we're gonna hafta go through with it. Don't want to become suspicious this late in the game, huh?"

"Are you sure? If we hang with him and you're still moping about he's gonna know something's up."

"Don't worry, bro. I'll be cool."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay if you're sure. I'll go get somebody and tell them that you're up."

"Alright. And hurry up. I hate sitting around like this."

"Haha... Okay."

Manic left the room to go and alert the hospital personnel that all was well. Alone again, Sonic's thoughts drifted to everybody else. He still didn't know how many of them knew what had happened to him. In particular, Sonic's thoughts drifted to Sally. Since she was the most outside of the loop, he wondered he she would figure out form the news stories that last night's events were in some way related to him. After all, it was no secret that he and Nack had a long history, and for Nack to all of a sudden be dead would surely draw attention. Laying back on the bed, all Sonic could think about was the fact that at this time tomorrow all of this would be over. It couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

Having received a clean bill of health, Sonic had been released without any complications. The two brothers had just stepped off the parking garage elevator and out onto the top level of the structure. Sonic's mood had improved greatly now that he was outside of the hospital and out in the absolutely gorgeous summer weather.

"Feelin' better, dude?"

"Hell yeah. I love the feeling of the sun on my fur, not to mention the breeze in my quills. Now all I need is to go fast to be perfect."

"Then you'll like Mina's ride. It's a convertible."

"Bitchin."

Manic couldn't help but laugh at his brother's mood. In just a few minutes he'd gone from gloomy and down to upbeat and cracking jokes. He just hoped that the mood would last so they could get their lunch date over with Vector and not blow their cover. Walking to the far end of the lot, they came upon a Chevrolet Corvette convertible with bright yellow paint.

"Woah-ho yeah! Nice choice, Mina!" Sonic exclaimed.

"I knew you'd be thrilled."

"Keys, bro," Sonic demanded, holding out his hand.

"Say the magic word."

"NOW."

"Asshole..."

Once inside the Corvette, Sonic clicked on the electronics-only position of the key so he could lower the top.

"Alright, let's drive this thing!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Manic asked.

"Uhh... oh yeah. Seat belt."

"That's better," Manic commented as Sonic as well as himself clicked on their belts.

"Okay, about driving stick..."

"Right. It's not really that hard, dude. It's really all about getting the motion down and knowing what to listen and feel for, as well as what to do and not do. Alright, the most basic starting point is your pedals. The gas is on the right and your brake is the middle-"

"No duh, bro. It ain't like I don't know how to drive a car. I've been there, done that."

"I know, dude. Anyways, the pedal on the left is what we're concerned with. It's the clutch pedal. I won't go into specific detail as to what it does but what it basically does is-"

"Do I really need to now this?"

"Who's teaching here, huh? As I was saying, the clutch basically disengages parts of the transmission from the engine to allow you to shift gears. When you want to change gears, you have to push that pedal in and let off the gas in order to move the gear selector properly, which is the lever right next to you. You with me so far?"

"It ain't rocket science."

"Good. Now, on this car, you have six gears, or speeds, to choose from. As you can see, there's gears one through six plus the reverse, as denoted by the numbers on the shifter. There's also the neutral gear when you don't have any gear selected at all."

"And let me guess, you start with gear one and work up to six, right?"

"Yo got it. Now, to get this baby started, push in the clutch pedal and turn the key. Also, make sure the gear lever is in neutral, otherwise when you let the clutch out, you'll stall the car like I did last night, and you don't want to do that to such a nice car."

Sonic did exactly as he was told and the car's eight cylinder engine announced to the world that it was alive and well. Manic couldn't help but notice the grin crossing his brother's face from the great exhaust note coming form the tail pipes.

"Great noise, huh?"

"Yup. Okay, so how do you drive this thing?"

"Okay, right now we're in neutral and we want to get moving. What you have to do is push the clutch in and push the gear lever into the slot for first gear. Once you've done that, as you let off of the clutch pedal, you also have to apply a little gas, otherwise you'll stall. Once you feel the clutch grab you can apply more gas and we'll be moving."

"Grab?"

"You'll know it when you feel it. Also, just a quick note, once you feel it start to grab don't just let the clutch out real fast because that will also stall you."

"Alright... here goes nothing."

Following his brother's instructions, Sonic performed the operation and hoped he got it right. Sure enough, he'd done it right and pulled the car out of the parking space and turned into the driving lane.

"That was easy," Sonic commented.

"See? Told ya. Now, you can't stay in first forever. See the gauge next to your speedometer? That's you're tachometer. It tells ya how many R.P.M.'s the engine is doing. You gauge when you shift gears by that. Once you start getting into the higher revs, you'll do what you did to get into first gear. Let off the gas, push in the clutch pedal, shift into second gear, let the clutch out all the way and then give it gas."

Though it was a little rougher than the first time, Sonic did as he was told. From there he took it up into third gear and got it perfect.

"Good dude. Now, to go to a lower gear, it's the same thing. Let off the gas, clutch in, downshift into second, and the rest is the same. Try it."

"Heh, no problem," Sonic stated after completing the task.

"You're doin' great, dude. Okay, the last thing I wanna try here is stopping. What you're gonna want to do is apply the brake and then just before you stop, push in the clutch, shift into neutral and let the clutch back out as you stop."

"Otherwise I'll stall, right?"

"Yup. Give it a shot."

It was a flawless attempt. Without even being told to do so, Sonic used the skills he'd learned and got the car going again and practiced for a few more minutes until he was perfectly comfortable with the basics. Once they done that, they left the garage and hit the streets where Manic taught his brother a few other techniques, such as starting off while on a hill, double-clutching, power shifting, adjusting for steep hills, and starting the engine by shifting into first gear while moving without turning the key. All told, the entire lesson took a little over an hour and by the end of it Sonic was driving a stick like a champ.

"I'm surprised at how easy that was," Sonic commented.

"Yeah, like I said, it's no biggy. And since you worked with me on a bunch of mechanical stuff during the war, I knew you'd catch on quickly."

"...Hey Manic?..."

"What up?"

"...Thanks..."

"No problemo, dude. It's what I'm here for."

* * *

Meanwhile on Route 101, Vector, Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese were driving along in Vector's Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum at a brisk but comfortable sixty-five M.P.H. in the cruising, or slow, lane. Vector was at the wheel while Vanilla sat adjacent to him, her hands folded on her lap as she listened to the smooth jazz music coming form the radio. In the back, Cream and her chaos Cheese sat impatiently, wanting to get to their destination not only to get out of the vehicle, but also to meet Sonic again.

"Are we there yet?" Cream asked.

"Almost, sweetie. We should be there by about 11:30, so about twenty more minutes," her mother answered.

"Why can't we go faster? I want to go faster!"

"It's dangerous to go too fast, Cream. Just because this high-way doesn't have a speed limit doesn't mean you have to go fast."

"You're thinking about Sonic, aren't ya?" Vector asked.

"Of course! I want to go fast like Sonic!"

"CHAO CHAO!"

"You know what... so do I. Let's get this baby up to speed."

"Vector... I don't to put us in danger or teach our daughter any bad habits."

"Don't worry, honey. I've had this discussion with Cream many times before. I've told her driving is a serious business and that going too fast or doing things that shouldn't be done while driving puts everybody a risk. Right, Cream?"

"That's right, Daddy. I wouldn't do anything you told me as bad."

"There, ya see?"

"Alright.. but please be careful."

"Don't worry, I won't go all out. This thing needs to be driven a bit hard anyway. All it normally sees it short, stop-go trips around the neighborhood. Let's she what she'll do."

"Here we go, Cheese!"

"CHAO!"

Vector guided the vehicle to the inner-left lane, the high-speed lane meant for those who wanted to go fast but not top speed. Once in the lane, he began to push the pedal a bit harder, summoning more power from the SUV's eight cylinder engine.

"Okay, that's seventy... seventy-five..."

"Vector, don't you think that's quite enough?" Vanilla asked, slightly tense.

"Not yet... eighty... ninety.."

"Vector I think that's enough!"

"Hold on, hold on! Ninety five... ninety-seven... ninety-nine... and that's a hundred miles per hour!"

"Wow! Look how fast everything is going by out there Cheese!"

"Chao CHAO!"

"Heheheh... That's why I love this thing... lots of power when ya need it."

"Perhaps too much..."

"Aw, come on honey. It's no big deal. Besides, I know how much you like having this rig when we go on your little shopping sprees."

"...Yes... you're right..." Vanilla admitted, blushing slightly with a smile.

* * *

A few minutes later back on the streets Sonic and Manic were having a blast cruising around in Mina's Corvette. Sonic had learned his new skills rather quickly and was having no difficulty whatsoever driving in city traffic.

"So where to from here, bro?"

"Well, I guess we should try to meet up with Vector. He said we'd meet at the Emerald Coast Hotel and have lunch at the cafe on the beach."

"Sweet. Sounds good to me."

They had just pulled up to a red light and come to a stop. Just down the road was the access ramp to Route 101, one of the two mega-highways with no speed limit that ran through the city.

"When did Vector want us to meet up?"

"Well, he said he and his family were gonna be there at about 11:30."

"Say _what_! Why didn't you tell me that sooner? We'll never make it in time now!"

"So what, dude? Haven't you ever heard of being fashionably late?"

"Haven't you ever heard of not being disrespectful to your hosts?"

"Well, what do you want me to tell you? Unless we haul ass the rest of the way, we're just gonna hafta be late."

This was not the answer Sonic wanted to hear. After the favors Vector had done for him last night, he didn't want to be late for their luncheon. That's when Sonic noticed the entrance ramp for Route 101. The words "no speed limit" flashed across his mind as he began revving the engine, catching his brother's attention his brother. With each rev of the engine, the car's torque made it shudder, begging to be let loose. Only then did Manic realize what his brother was up to, as well as the error of putting Sonic behind the wheel of a high-performance sports car for training purposes.

"No way Sonic... _no way_..."

"What? Are you..." Sonic teased, revving the engine again, "scared?"

"You're not good enough to do what you're gonna do yet!"

"You just got done saying how well I did and that I caught on fast."

"Well... yeah... but still, you've only been driving stick for an hour, not a while like I have!"

"Point being?"

"You gotta practice a bit more before you can try driving fast, let alone driving fast in traffic!"

"You're talking to the fastest thing alive, bro... speed is my life."

"But this ain't on your feet, dude! It's in a car! Mina's to be exact! How do you think Mina will feel if you wreck it?"

"Not gonna happen."

"Come on, Sonic. Just take it easy, alright?"

"Not gonna happen."

"Dammit, quit being an ass!"

"Not gonna happen."

Manic tired to reach for the keys, but Sonic swatted his hand away.

"Not gonna happen."

With another rev of the engine, Manic looked up and noticed the the light was turning yellow for the other direction. There was no escaping it now. Manic quickly tightened his seat belt and braced himself.

"Chill, bro."

"Chill my ass. We are gonna die."

"...Not gonna happen..."

With just seconds before the light would turn green, Sonic blipped the throttle hard numerous times, waiting for the right of way. The millisecond the light turned green, Sonic slammed the shifter into first and put the gas pedal to the floor. The car's torque slammed them back into their seats as the engine's horsepower was sent to the car's wheels. The tires tires screamed like a banshee a plumes of white smoke wafted from the wheel wells until the rubber gained traction on the asphalt. By the time they got to third gear they were quick approaching the on-ramp. Slowing down some, Sonic pushed the convertible hard into the curved entrance ramp at about seventy miles per hour, the tires threatening to loose their grip and put them into the wall. On the verge of loosing it, Sonic held on tight and kept the car going on its path and got them onto the highway.

"WOO-HOO! HERE WE GO, BRO!"

Putting his foot to the floor again, Sonic switched over to the high-speed lanes of Route 101 and made his way up through fourth gear, then fifth, and finally into sixth. From there the red needle on the speedometer only continued to climb.

"You can slow down any time now, dude!"

"NOT GONNA HAPPEN!"

Even though the engine was roaring at this speed, it was completely inaudible due to the sound of the wind bustling past them with the top down. The whole car was vibrating as they continued to push the envelope of what the car could do. In front of them, everything was a blur due to the tunnel-vision effect of driving at high speed and behind them everything vanished in an instant. Sonic was enjoying every minute of what they were doing, but Manic was far from thrilled. It wasn't that they were going fast, he'd done that before. It was more that Manic knew well that Sonic was still inexperienced. He could only hope that the brief training lesson he'd given him over the past hour would be enough to let them survive this high-speed run.

* * *

"I just can't understand why people insist on going faster than this. I mean, what makes them so important that they have to go so fast?" Vanila asked rhetorically.

"Well, it certainly helps out when you're running late for a meeting, dear."

"Even that's not a good enough reason. Now that I think about it, there is no good reason for it."

"Well... I think the only answer I can give to that is that for some it's just about the rush of going fast. It's just like riding a roller coaster or going sky diving. It's just a thrill."

"Is that what happens when you drive your other car, daddy?"

"You mean my squad car?"

"No, the _other_ one."

"Ohhhhhh... my dream machine... Well... yes, I guess you could say that... When you're going that fast, you really tend to forget about what's on your mind... You become one with the machine and... you just go..."

"Go where, daddy?"

"Everywhere... and nowhere at the same time... It's like you're traveling without moving... and at speeds like that... listening to the engine sing and the wind rush past, I can see why Sonic loves speed... In fact, I almost envy him because of how fast he can run... Must be great to be able to just forge about everything and run like the wind... In fact, I'll be that's what Sonic's doing right now... going as fast as he can."

As if on cue, Sonic and Manic had caught up with Vector and shot by them. They were going so fast that the air pressure coming off the side of the car actually made the SUV shudder, not to mention the sound of the exhaust was quite loud. No sooner had everybody spotted the yellow car that had just past them when it was already so far away that you couldn't see it well anymore.

"WOAH!"

"Oh my goodness! What was that!"

"That was a Corvette, Vanilla, and I'm guessing they were going nearly twice our speed. What I want to know is _who_ was that?"

"It was Sonic and his brother!"

"What? Are you sure, Cream?" Vector asked.

"I'm positive! Cheese saw it too, right?"

"CHAO CHAO!"

"How did you know it was them, darling?" Vanilla asked."

"I know it was Sonic! I could never forget what he looks like going fast! And Manic's not exactly easy to miss, either. In fact, he looked pretty scared!"

"Heheheh!... Guess Sonic's not such a bad driver after all!"

"He was probably scared of being late for lunch so he wanted to go fast! Right Cheese?"

"Chao chao!"

"Well, he certainly doesn't have to worry about that now. With how fast they're going they'll probably put themselves about five or minutes ahead of us. In fact, I think we'll slow up a bit to see just how far ahead they get."

"I just hope that nothing bad happens to them."

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure they were just giving the car a short burst to get going. They're probably slowing down right now, just like we are."

* * *

"Are you having more fun going fast, or scaring the shit out of me?"

"Do I even need to answer! This is _way_ past cool!"

"I think you've proven you can drive fast, dude!"

"One ninety!"

"_I said I think you've proven you can drive fast!_"

"One ninety-five... one ninety-seven... one _ninety-eight_... Come on, dammit!... _one ninety-nine_... **YEEEEEEAAAAAAH! TWO-HUNDRED BABY!**"

Manic took his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at his brother. Even though they were traveling at a speed that was only about a quarter of what Sonic could do, his brother seemed to be having an immense amount of fun. In fact, it looked as if he'd completely forgotten about everything that had happened and what was going to happen. Seeing that brought a sense of relief to Manic. He knew that it took a lot for his brother to be stressed and depressed like he'd been over the past few days. To see Sonic act the way he'd always remembered him made the high-speed trip, though it was daring, crazy, and terrifying, suddenly became worth it.

They continued on at that speed for a bit longer until Sonic happened to glance around at some of the other indicators in the gauge cluster and caught two very important pieces of information. Their high-speed cruise had taken what was a half full gas tank to just about touching the "**E**." Not only that, but the engine temperature needle was also dangerously high. To push on any more might damage the engine or, more embarrassingly, make them run out of fuel. Reluctantly, Sonic let off the gas pedal and carefully transitioned over into the slower lanes, steadily the vehicle to a reasonable seventy-five MPH.

"I was beginning to think we were gonna run the gas tank dry with your lead foot."

"That's actually why I slowed down. We're just startin' to hit the "E" and the engine's running a bit on the hot side."

"And this is surprising to you?"

"No, I was just sayin what the car's telling me."

"Oh, I'm sure if this car could talk it'd be cursing you out right now for having done something that ballsy. Still, I gotta admit... you did pretty damn good, dude. I'm impressed."

"Yeah, I'm good like that. And on an even better note, we sure as hell picked up some time! We still got seven minutes to get there on time."

"Perfect. And what's even better is that our exit is coming up and there's a gas station just off of it," Manic stated, pointing at a road sign with the exit ramp numbers and nearby businesses on it.

"Awesome. We'll just make a quick pit stop, get a little go-go juice, and catch up with Vector at the cafe."

"As long as you don't get us arrested by driving like a maniac on the roads."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Make you? Okay."

The exit ramp was a curved one, similar to the entrance ramp they'd taken just minutes before. No sooner had they entered it when Sonic clicked off the traction control and burped the throttle to throw the back end out. Once he'd done that, Sonic clenched the wheel and despite his lack of driving experience, maintained a perfect power slide down the entire ramp to the street below. Needless to say, this made Manic cling to his seat like ivy by the time they'd made it to the bottom and pretty much until the pulled into the gas station a few blocks away.

"You still me there, bro?"

"Yeah... but I'm not so sure if my bowels are..."

"And you got on my ass about messin' up the car. Heh..."

Sonic didn't bother to open the door to get out, rather he stood up and hurdled himself over the door. Manic, however, had no choice but to use the door since his knees were a bit unstable, though he didn't let this show lest his brother see it and make fun of him. As he got out, Manic pulled the engine cover release lever and checked the engine. A noticeable wave of heat wafted out when the hood had been opened, but there wasn't any steam or fluid leaks of any kind.

"She held up to that pretty well," Manic stated.

"Hey, it's a Vette. It's made to jet. Ha, that's kinda funny!"

"Cute, dude. Very cute. Hey, what kinda gas you puttin' in her tank?"

"The most expensive kind. I figured that was the best to put in it... Or did I just fuck up?"

"No, Premium is what you should put in a sports car... Oh, hold on. Got a call coming in."

Manic took his phone out of his fanny pack and checked the number.

"It's Vector. He's probably wondering where we are."

"Didn't you call him earlier?"

"Meant to, but no."

"Figures..."

Manic rolled his eyes as he answered the call.

"Hey Vector, how's it going?"

_"I was wondering the same thing about you. I saw you and Sonic shoot past us at... well, I'm guessing about two-hundred, give or take?"_

"Yeah, that was us... Wait... Did we pass you guys and not even know it?"

_"Yup, you sure did. My daughter said you looked pretty freaked out, too."_

"Freaked out? _Me_? Nah, I wasn't freaked out at all."

"Yeah you were!" Sonic yelled loud enough for Vector to hear.

"Shut up, dude!"

"It's okay, bro. Grown men are allowed to cry from time to time."

Sonic could hear Vector laughing on the other end of the line, followed by a minute or so of conversation. Just as Sonic was finished gassing up the car and putting the fuel cap back on Manic ended his call.

"So what's the deal?"

"Vector's a few minutes behind us but he told us to go on. He's gonna call in a parking and table reservation for us so we can just show up and have done with it."

"Coolness. Let's get going, then."

"Yup, let's do it," Manic said, shutting the hood. "Oh, and Sonic? Let's keep the speed to a safe level, huh?"

"Heheheh... no promises..."

"... I knew you'd say that..."

* * *

Minutes later the two of them had arrived at the Emerald Coast beachfront hotel. As they pulled up, a valet parking attendant held up a sign that read "Detective Vector and Co." to them. Sonic tooted the horn politely and the valet motioned for another parking assistant to join him. The two valets opened the doors for the brothers and greeted them graciously. With that, one attendant drove the car around the entrance lane and down into the hotel's underground parking lot and the other gave Sonic a numbered token to be returned later when they wanted to leave. Walking towards the hotel, the sliding glass doors opened before them and the smell of cleanliness wafted out of the building.

"Kinda makes ya feel like royalty, eh bro?" Sonic asked

"I could do without it, to tell ya the truth."

"Aw come on, Manic. Can't you afford to live just a little?"

"You know I'm not into all this fancy-shmancy bullshit, dude."

"Yeah, I can see that."

The both approached the main counter where the receptionist greeted them.

"How may I help you?"

"Reservation for Detective Vector."

"Reservation for Detective Vector... hmm hmm hmm... Ah, here it is. The reservation is for table thirteen along the beach. Head out through the doors leading to the pool, go through the beach entrance and walk down the concrete pathway until you see the table with your number and names on it."

"Thank you."

The two of them began to walk away form the desk and out through the sliding doors to a large pool area. Once out there, Sonic motioned for his brother to stop.

"What's up, dude?"

"Maybe we ought to wait for Vector. It might be nice to all go to the table at the same time, ya know?"

"Whatever... You're better friends with him than me."

"Aw come on, bro. Vector knows you're a good guy and that you've cleaned up your act. He doesn't hold any grudges."

"Yeah, whatever... I swear sometimes he looks at me funny... almost as if he's expecting me to break out and do something bad."

"I think you worry too much."

"I think you trust him too much."

"Manic, you're acting like Vector's our enemy."

"Technically speaking..." Manic started, leaning in closer and lowering his voice, "he _is_."

"Then if that's how you feel about him, why'd you agree to meet here in the first place?" Sonic asked, also leaning in.

"Because you flapped off your big yapper last night and agreed to meet him before I could warn against it, "Manic responded, starting to get irritated.

"Well what was I supposed to do? Say no? Wouldn't that have been a bit suspicious?" Sonic retorted, also getting annoyed.

"Yes, but now both of us gotta hide our feelings in front of somebody that could bust our asses."

"Then let me ask _you_... can _you_ keep a straight face in front of Vector?"

"Or course. I've been around him a lot and gotten a lot of practice hiding how I feel around him. And growing up on the streets has helped me as well."

"That's a real great attitude to have, Manic."

"You don't trust me, do you dude?"

"Funny, I could ask the same thing about you."

"Well that _very_ fucking encouraging, Sonic. What was your plan? To wait until the last possible second to tell me that you don't trust my judgment and just tell me to piss off and you go and take all the credit?"

"What... the _hell_... does that mean?"

"Don't play stupid, dude. You know what I mean."

"I wish I did."

"Dammit!... See what happens when you've been away for six years? You miss so much that you're too far behind to ever catch up and see how things really are."

"Oh, we're back to this shit again, huh? Look bro, the simple fact is that you make stupid decisions because you act before you think. If you'd just for once think something through then maybe you'd-"

"Shut your face, Sonic. Like you have _any_ room to talk. You know how many times during the war you made snap decisions that damn near cost us? More than anybody can even count! And with how much you drove Sally crazy it's no wonder she eventually broke up with you."

That was the spark that started the fire for Sonic. Shooting a glare at his brother, Sonic shoved him with moderate force.

"Hey what the f-"

"Don't you go talking about things you don't understand, bro. You don't know shit about me and Sally and our breakup had _nothing_ to do with that."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! Last I checked I wasn't questioning you're being with Amy!"

"Then check again, moron! Last _I_ checked you've cracked jokes about me being her lover every chance you get!"

"Exactly, I cracked jokes. You made attacks on me. Big difference there."

"So let me get this straight... You've basically saying that no matter what I do or say I'm wrong, and whatever you do or say is right?"

"Not really... It's more that you think you're so smart and bad-assed because you were raised on the streets as a criminal and because of that you think you always know what you're doing. The truth is you're not as good as you think you are, Manic. You're more talk than action. In fact, you just might be all talk and no action."

"You're really getting close to my boiling point, dude."

"And you think that _scares_ me?"

"It _should_."

"The only thing that scares me is how reckless and stupid you've been with this whole situation. You acted without even thinking of your actions and now you're talking the big talk when all you did is fuck things up... like always..."

"Is _that_ so?..."

"Uh, yeah, it is. In fact, with how bad you've handled what's happening now, I'm amazed you made it as far as you have with Amy. Probably just a matter of time before she dumps you for somebody a bit more stable. After all, considering how much she used to obsess over me, she's probably just using you to get to me. What do you think?"

Manic's answer came as a solid, swift punch to Sonic's gut. The air escaped from Sonic's lungs and he fell to his knees, gasping for a breath. To add insult to injury, Manic spit on Sonic's head, then tried to walk away. Out of rage, Sonic somehow got to his feet to try and talk his brother, for he wasn't about to let him get away with that. However, having not fully recovered from the blow to his gut, Sonic didn't stay up very well and tumbled over his own two feet, pulling Manic down with him. The two of them were on a crash course for the large in-ground swimming pool. Just before he would have fallen in, Manic finally lost his balance and feel at the edge of the pool. Sonic, however, wasn't so lucky and tumbled right into the clear, cold water.

Not having the slightest ability to swim, Sonic sank to the bottom like a stone. Fortunately, he'd fallen into the shallow section and was only a few feet underwater. Looking through the water, Sonic saw his brother's arm jolt and and grabbed a hold and was pulled up but not out of the water. Manic stood over his gasping brother who held onto the side of the pool and tried to get the taste of chlorinated water out of his mouth. Just looking at Manic told Sonic that this wasn't over yet.

"You say that I haven't grown up... you say that I act before I think... you say that all I do is fuck up... you say that I'm unstable... you say that I can't be trusted... All bullshit, dude... _All bullshit_... Being the hypocrite that you are, you contradicted everything you said by doing what you just did. Maybe I'm not perfect, Sonic, but I'm certainly a hell of a lot further along than you. I suggest that you take a good long look in a mirror because you really need to take a good look at yourself. Everything that you say is wrong with me is what's really wrong with _you_."

Manic walked off, leaving his brother hanging onto the edge of the pool. Sonic wanted to say something, but he stopped himself when Manic looked around once again.

"You're stuck in the past, dude. Time to catch up with the times."

Sonic could only stare in silence as this powerful accusation set in. Deeply.

* * *

A few minutes later found Sonic in a restroom of the hotel, cleaning himself up. He'd already done his best to dry himself off and remove the chlorine smell from his fur. Only moments ago he'd taken off his shoes and actually poured the water out of them they were so saturated. It was at that point Sonic remembered that whatever he'd been keeping under the inserts of his shoes were most likely destroyed. Sure enough he found masses of soggy, wrinkled, crumbling paper that he had to clean out. From the shoes he cleaned out the remnants of Vector's business card, some random notes he'd jotted down about cool places to go, a few old receipts, a few old wrappers, and a few other unidentifyable pieces of trash.

"Why the hell did I hold onto these things?... Hey... what's this?..."

Turns out, there was a small photograph in his right shoe. The photo was of wallet size and it had been laminated so that it could be preserved better. Turning it over, though the image was smeared, it was an old picture of Sonia, Manic, and himself. The three of them were standing on a stage and they were all playing their musical instruments. It had been taken on the night they'd defeated Robotnik and had celebrated long into the night. Thinking back, Sonic had put the picture in there so that no matter where he went, he'd always be able to look at his siblings. He was surprised that he'd forgotten about something that important and out of curiosity checked his other shoe to see if there was another one. There was.

"Geez, I got one in here too? I wonder who this one is of..."

Almost immediately Sonic wished he hadn't looked at the other photo. It was a picture of Sally, smiling the kind of smile that at one time could make Sonic think that there wasn't a single thing wrong in the world. Now, just to look at it made his stomach implode on itself and a feeling of bitterness overcame himself to look at it. To think that somehow what they had got screwed up and that now they could only pretend to be nice to each other was always a painful experience for him. He was about to start badmouthing the picture in his head when he looked up at himself in the mirror, just like Manic said he should. A realization hit him then.

_"I may be the fastest thing alive... but I've been slow to grow up... perhaps too slow..."_

Only then did he realize how right his brother had been. There was no denying that in his six year absence he'd missed a lot and was behind not only on the times, but on himself. Sure, chronologically he'd aged six years to be twenty-one physically. Mentally, however, he now saw that he hadn't changed a bit. He was still the immature, self-centered, impatient, action-oriented, childish being that he'd been six years ago and pretty much forever. Nothing had changed. Feeling ashamed of himself, Sonic replaced the picture of his siblings to its proper location, but not so for the picture of Sally. Exiting the bathroom, Sonic headed back outside past the pool and through the beach entrance. Rather than heading to the reserved table, however, Sonic jogged out onto the beach. Standing at the edge of the water in the damp, stiff sand, Sonic looked down at the photo and began to think.

_"I loved you once, Sally... I loved you so much... I miss what we had... but... that's just it... It's what we **had**... not what we **have**..._ _You may have said you might in time ;earn to forgive me for what happened to you while I was away... but I know you'll never forgive me for what I'm doing now... There's no point in dragging this out any longer... I gotta do what I gotta do... It's time to move on... Both of us..."_

Sonic brought the picture up to his lips and lightly pressed it to them. He took one last look at the photo, trying to burn the image upon it into his retinas.

"Goodbye Sally..."

With the flick of his wrist, Sonic tossed the picture out of the surging tide in a playing-card-throw fashion. He followed the tiny picture spiraled further and further out over the water and then watched it disappear into the breaking waves. On one hand Sonic felt a sense of relief at having let go of a burden he'd been carrying for so long, but on the other hand he couldn't deny that he'd always hoped that they could repair the damages caused and pick up where they left off. Letting out a sigh, Sonic accepted that this was the beginning of a growing stage to leave the past where it as, accept the present, and work to make the future better.

* * *

**Author's Notes****:**

I hope somebody makes it to this point considering how boring and pointless this chapter was.

By the way, if anybody out here happens to know how to drive a stick-shift, I apologize if I got something wrong or messed something up. I've never driven a stick-shift, or any car for that matter. I could only go off of what I've been told about it, what I researched, and what I could find on You Tube.

As always, reviews, suggestions, and constructive criticism welcome.


	16. Making a Mess of Things

**Author's Notes:**

Although it's over a week late, a Happy New Years to everyone. Hopefully it's going better for you than me. Long story short, it's been rather hectic for me so far. The same goes for this chapter. I hope that everything makes sense in it as I went through nearly a dozen drafts of it before I got it just the way I wanted it. If there's anything majorly wrong or misleading, please tell me and I'll fix it right away.

Speaking of this chapter, I know everybody is itching for me to reach the main event of the story, but I had to do this chapter first. For those that have seen the movie you will recognize the main scene of this chapter and the changes I made to it so that it fit the story. To those who haven't seen the movie, this is basically a tribute to one of the most famous scenes of both the modern and original "Gone in Sixty Seconds" movies. However, I did work in events and information that will be _**VERY**_ important later on, so don't blow this chapter off as a filler. Information from here will come up again.

Nothing else to say but reviews appreciated and constructive criticism always welcome.

* * *

**Chapter 16** - Making a Mess of Things

At table thirteen Manic sat with his eyes skimming over a menu, trying to get an idea of what cuisine they had to offer. A lot of it sounded far too rich, fancy, or complicated for his tastes. To add to that, the handful of things he did like were anything but cheap. Tossing the menu aside, he sat back in his chair, his mind dwelling over the job coming up in just a few hours. In particular, he was thinking about the repair center from which they were going to get all seven Ferraris and Lamborghinis from. While it was no doubt the location was going to help them save a lot of time, it was going to be very difficult getting in and out of there considering the security of the facility, it's location in a residential area, and the fact that it was such a large operation, not to mention it was going to look quite conspicuous when fourteen six, seven, and even eight digit valued vehicles would suddenly drive away from the place.

_"If only we had some way of transporting them out of there. I know I could make a faux arrangement to have them shipped elsewhere with my computer hacking skills, but we would still need a way to move them other than one at a time. Think, dammit, think..."_

The sound of a group of voices approaching interrupted Manic's thoughts_. _Looking up, it was Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese that had arrived. Manic got into posture and cleared his mind of anything related to the job, not wanting to give away any hints about the job coming up tonight.

"Manic!" Cream squealed, running forward and clasping onto Manic.

"Hi Cream. How ya doin'?"

"I'm fine. You looked really funny when you flew by my daddy's car. I've never seen you so scared!"

"Me? Scared? Ha! I was perfectly fine. No sweat at all."

"Then why were your big brown eyes so wide and why were you holding onto your seat like ivy?"

"Well, uhh, you see, uhh... Sonic's not as skilled a driver as I, and uhh... this was the first time he drove a stick shift and-"

"Oh save it, will ya Manic? Everybody knows your fur turned as yellow as the car we were driving."

Manic only shut his eyes and sighed as once again his brother chose to enter at the most inopportune time. Cream, on the other hand was ecstatic to finally be reunited with Sonic and leapt into an embrace reminiscent of how Amy used to react. Cheese also hovered about making squealing sounds of happiness.

"Wow! Did Amy teach you how to give hugs, Cream?"

"I'm just so happy to see you again, Sonic!"

"So am I you little sweetheart."

"Who you calling little! I'm a big girl now!" Cream snapped playfully, giving Sonic a play punch to the arm.

"Ow! And apparently a stronger one too!"

"Now Cream, we don't hit each other," Vanilla reminded her daughter.

"You're right. Sorry, Sonic."

"No harm done. And by the way, a pleasure to see you again, Vanilla," Sonic said, taking the mother's hand and kissing it like a cavalier.

"Oh my, you've become quite a gentleman," she commented.

"Eh, I have my moments. So, I heard you and Vector tied the knot a few years ago."

"That's right. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made, not only for myself, but for my daughter. For her to finally have a father to look up to had brought a sense of closure to us both."

"He said the same thing when I met up with him a few days ago. That's just fantastic. Speaking of which, where is Vector?"

"He's probably checking to make sure his car was parked in a safe part of the lot. He's so meticulous about his vehicles it's humorous."

"I can relate to that. Up until when my Camaro got wrecked last night I treated that thing like it was all I had."

"Typical man talk," Cream teased.

"Eh, what can I say. Guys like cars and we don't like anybody screwin' with em."

"You got that right."

"Yo Vector, what's happenin'!" Sonic said, spinning around to greet Vector.

"Aye... I tell ya, I'm glad we're doing lunch because it's gonna be a long-ass day."

"Vector!"

"Whoops... sorry, honey."

"Ahem!"

"And you too, Cream."

"Is there something wrong, V?"

"Well, I just got a call from Mighty. My office has been flooded with calls from the S.S.P.D. to get cracking on the situation from last night. They want me to get there as soon as possible to start the mound of work associated with it."

"Does that mean you have to leave?" Vanilla asked.

"No, I told Mighty to tell the S.S.P.D. to give me an hour or so to spend with family and friends. I know being a detective is a tough job, but sooner or later I gotta take time for myself. My team will swing by later to pick me up and take me to work."

"Now you're thinking like me. Just gotta play it cool and know when to chill out."

"If only I could do that more often, Sonic. But enough about me, how are you doing after last night?

"Couldn't be better. Not like I was all _that_ banged up, but nothing a good night's rest couldn't clear up."

"You sure, Sonic? It's not like you to pass out like you did."

"V, consider what happened to me, man. After all, I-"

"What's this _I_ shit, dude?"

"Watch your mouth!" Cream shouted.

"CHAO!"

Manic received a slap on the face from Cheese for having uttered another naughty word. Manic blushed deeply as Cream frowned at him.

"Serves ya right, Manic. Anyways, _we_ were nearly sniped down, in a roll-over t-bone accident, and then _I_ was nearly strangled by a weasel with a few thousand dollars worth of cocaine in his blood. Not exactly pleasing experiences."

"I'm just so glad you're not hurt, Sonic. When Vector told me about this last night all we had a hard time falling to sleep thinking about you."

"Eh, I've taken worse beatings. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm not hurt, nor is anybody else, and the world's a safer place now. Therefore, let's forget about our troubles for a bit and have a nice meal."

"That sounds like a great idea. Shall we?"

"As I always used to say V... let's to it to it."

* * *

About an hour later found the group waiting at the entrance of the hotel for the valet service to bring up Vector's Escalade. The whole lunch had gone smoothly, both of the hedgehog brothers having kept their cool and not let onto anything that was on their minds. In fact, they'd even come out of he whole event with lifted spirits, a sure pleasure considering what they had coming their way in a few hours. Even so, they only had to keep their composure for just a bit longer.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Sonic. Take care of yourself and I hope to see you again sometimes soon."

"Likewise, Vanilla."

"Bye, Sonic. Come visit sometime, okay?"

"Chao chao!"

"Don't worry, Cream. I'm sure we'll see each other really soon," he responded, hugging the little rabbit and her pet.

At that moment, the valet service had pulled up with the vehicle they had been waiting for. Though Manic had known about Vector's rather eccentric choice of family vehicle, it was news to Sonic. His jaw fell open as the onyx colored SUV stopped in front of them and the valet retrieved the numbered chip from Vector he'd gotten earlier to prove it was his.

"_Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!_"

"You like it? Vector asked.

"Oh me likey. Me likey _very_ much."

"Why don't you take a quick look around inside."

Sonic was happy to oblige. Jumping inside he took a seat in the black leather and dark wood interior and tried to take in all the luxury that surrounded him. Everywhere he looked there was leather, wood trim, control switches for the vehicle's features, speakers, and enough room to fit a family three times the size of Vector's.

"Wow. Just... _wow_."

"Nice, huh?"

"There's enough luxury in this thing to keep my sister happy for about a week!"

"Hahahahaha! Yeah, I know. But the best thing for me is the engine. It's got a four-hundred and three horsepower engine with a four-wheel drive system that really puts that power down nicely."

Having heard that, there was one thing Sonic just had to ask.

"Eight cylinders? Can I... hear how she sings?"

"By all means."

Sonic put his foot on the break and shifted the automatic transmission into neutral. The engine gave a satisfying purr as the body leaned from the torque. Both Vector and Sonic grinned at the satisfying sensations they were enjoying from the piece of luxurious machinery.

"I know you boys could play like this all day, but I think it would be fair if we didn't hog up the valet lane," Vanilla suggested.

"Yes, you're right. Sonic, I know you don't want to, but it's time to give your times back to mommy."

"I don't wanna!"

The two of them laughed as Sonic exited the Cadillac. Vector kissed his wife and daughter goodbye as they got into the SUV, wishing them well and to have fun with their day.

"Enjoy the shopping trip, ladies," Sonic commented.

"And if you happen to pass by an electronics store that's running a few sales, could you-"

"We already have three flat-screen plasma TV's Vector. I think that's enough."

Vector gave a puppy-dog look to his wife, but laughed it off since he was joking. With that, they drove off as the three who stayed behind waved them off.

"Pardon me for asking but how in the name of Mobius did you afford a ride like that?"

"A few years ago we won the lottery, Sonic. We made fifteen million dollars in one night."

"Fif-fif-fifteen _million_ dollars!"

"Uh-huh. Mind you, most of it went into a fund for Cream for college, investments, and all that stuff."

"Wow. Talk about luck."

"That's only the beginning. I was even more lucky with how much I paid for my Escalade."

"How much was it?"

"A dollar."

"_A dollar?_"

"A dollar"

"**_A_ _dollar_?**"

"One _very_ lucky dollar, Sonic. One night I was out with my team and family for a little bit of fun at Casinopolis, the casino a stone's throw away from here? Anyway, I don't know what happened that night, but I got on the worst losing streak of my life. I walked in with a thousand dollars and walked out with a dollar. Needless to say my wife wasn't pleased. As we walked outside, however, they had this huge slot machine with eight slots that spelled out the word "CADILLAC." I figured since I only had a dollar left I'd shove it in there so I wouldn't have to carry it anymore. I pulled the lever and the next thing I know lights and sirens start going off. I'd won the vehicle you just saw my wife drive away in."

"Talk about way past cool. If that's how you got your family-mobile, how'd you get your squad car?"

"Eh, that's not as exciting a story. However, it's a more meaningful one. It was awarded to us, Team Chaotix, upon the solving of our one-hundredth consecutive case without failure. And considering our hundredth case was that we'd exposed that the newly elected mayor had rigged the election polls, once the correct mayor elect took office he felt we should be recognized for our achievements. As a result, we got the BMW M5 squad car, our own headquarters, and all the recognition we'll ever need."

"Sheesh. You've sure had a lot of nice things come your way. Wish we could all be that lucky."

"Heheheheh... I wish I had a hundred dollars every time I'd heard that. If I did I'd be well on my to affording my dream luxury car.

"And what would that be?"

"A Rolls Royce Phantom. Been in love with that car ever since I laid eyes on one."

"Damn, Vector's all up with the bling-bling-mobiles. Next thing ya know he'll be cartin' criminals to jail in a Rolls with a chrome paint job and pimped-out rims."

"Actually, Sonic... I already have a car like that. Well, it's silver actually. And it doesn't have pimped rims on it, but it does have sports rims. I think you'll like it. Come on. I'll show it to you."

Both Sonic and Manic cocked their heads in interest. Vector smirked and motioned with his fingers to follow him. At the front counter, Vector turned in a chip like the one they had for Mina's car and the clerk gave him a set of keys. Just as they were going to turn away, the receptionist held them up, informing Vector that a call had come in for him.

"You guys go down and wait for me. I gotta take this."

Without another word, Vector went around the corner where the pool was to take the call. Not knowing what else to do, the brother's took the elevator down to the parking garage. Stepping out, Manic had a rather blank expression on his face.

"There's only one car that I know of down here that has a silver paint job, dude..."

"What are you talking about? Look around you. There's plenty of silver cars down here that could be his."

Manic didn't respond as he instinctively walked to a certain car they'd paid a visit to earlier in the week, his brother right behind him. In the center double parking isle they stopped in front of the same silver Saleen Mustang they'd spotted a few days ago. The two of them stared at it, both thinking the same dreadful thought.

"Bro... you don't think-"

"I do."

"Nah, no way. Vector isn't into sports cars. He likes luxury cars, you heard him. He wouldn't buy something sporty like this... would he?"

Manic began walking around t the back of the car, mainly to check the license plate. The rear plate read "KIK-N-AZZ."

"I don't know, but with how everything has been going this week, I have this feeling this is the one."

"Maybe this isn't the same one, though. I mean, this wasn't a one-off car was it?"

"No to both. It's not a one-off, but this is the same car. It has the same plates."

"Alright, let's say hypothetically this is Vector's car. Is it possible to find another one this late in the game?"

"I already told you I searched every vehicle database I could find and the only other one I found is miles from here."

"You do realize what you're suggesting right?

"Yup."

"And you're cool with that?"

"I already told you how I feel about Vector. Besides, the way I look at it, this job we have to do isn't personal, so what's the difference?"

"The difference is that this seems like a revenge mission with how I'm looking at it," Sonic said, turning his back on his brother.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but we don't have a choice."

"I don't know how you'll be able to live with yourself if you do that."

"It'll be like every other car we steal dude. Nobody but you, me, and our team will know."

"And me."

Sonic and Manic froze in their places. Somebody had heard everything they'd just said. Glancing into the reflection of the Saleen, Manic spotted the outline of a figure approaching him. Whoever it was was reaching out to grab Manic. Not wasting any time, Manic did a back spin kick, sending his foot right into the face of whoever the stranger was. The hit sent the stranger tumbling back up against a black sedan, two suitcases dropping to the ground at the same time. Then, before the newcomer could react, Manic delivered a knee-to-the-groin attack, sending whoever it was to the ground face-first in pain. The to top it all off, Manic elbow-dropped the foreigner in the upper-back, then wrapped his arms around the person's throat. By now Sonic had not only figured out what was going on, but who the person was.

"Manic, let him go!

"No way, dude!"

"But that's-"

"I don't care, just help me knock this asshole out!"

"That asshole is Antoine!"

Taking the time to actually see who it was that he was attacking, Manic realized that the being he currently had pinned to the ground was indeed their comrade Antoine. Manic let go of the moaning coyote, trying to help him to his feet. Antoine swatted his hand away, leaning up against the black sedan which coincidentally was his worn out BMW.

"Mange le merde Maneek!" Antoine gasped through the pain.

"Yeah, uhh, sorry about that Antoine."

"You have no idea what he just said, do you?" Sonic asked.

"Do I look like I speak his language? I'm guessing it was an insult, though."

"He said eat shit, Manic."

"Right back at ya, Antoine."

"Va te faire foutre!" he shouted, finally managing to stand upright.

"Kiss my ass, dude."

"Funny, that's what he said."

"Really? Cool. You learn something new everyday."

"Tu me fais chier..."

"Whatever."

"Before we start a language war here, let me interrupt by asking just what in the hell are you doing here, Ant?"

"What else would I be doeeng 'ere? I am beeeng on a meession for heem!"

"Who?"

_"_**Mon**_** dieu!**_ Who do you theek I am talkeeng about!"

"...Oh yeah. Right. You're boss Is that what those suitcases were for?"

"Oui."

"So what's inside em?"

"Mes affaires font mal au cul, Maneek."

"Won't tell me, huh? Hey, look!"

Antoine fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book and turned away. This gave Manic enough time to open one suitcase which he found to be completely stuffed with stacks of money.

"Oh _shit_!"

"Close zat case, you moron!" Antoine snapped, slamming the case shut. "What eez zee matter weeth you! Don't you theenk eef sombodee were to 'ave been walkeeng by zis would 'ave looked just zee slight beet suspeeceeous?"

"Man, what's wrong with your ass today?" Manic asked.

"What's wrong? Zis 'hole day 'as been one beeg pain een zee ass! Between beeng beeteen up by Maneek 'ere, zee people I've 'ad to do beesnees weeth, and zee normal sheet from _heem_, I am feeleeng like I could be keeleeng somebodee!"

"Woah-ho, calm down there Ant! No use in gettin' all hype at us. We're on your side, remember?"

"Oui... je suis désolé... I should not 'ave snapped at you like zat."

"No problemo, Ant."

Sighing from the stress, Antoine took out his car keys to open the trunk of his car. As per tradition of the heavily worn-out vehicle, though the key for the trunk had been inserted and turned, the latch did not release. Growling slightly, Antoine began futzing with the key, trying to get the latch to let go. With a smirk on his face, Sonic gave the trunk a glad slam with his fist and it popped right open.

"Works _every_ time."

With a grunt, Antoine hoisted the heavy case full of money into the trunk of the car. When he went to reach of the other case, however, Manic stopped him.

"So what's in this one, huh?"

"Eet does not matter."

"Wrong answer."

Manic went to snatch the case away, but Antoine reacted at the same time, resulting in both of them taking a hold on it. A brief tug-of-war ensued as each of them tried to pull the case away from the other. Manic, however, made the mistake of grabbing hold of the locks on the suitcase and as soon as he held them just right they gave way. Both Antoine and Manic went tumbling backwards in either direction as the case opened and fell to the ground, its contents dumping out onto the ground. At first, Sonic fell to his knees in laughter. However, when he got a better looks at what was inside the case, the situation turned into anything but funny. From the case several kilogram-blocks of tightly packed white powder scattered about on the ground. Sonic didn't even have to think about what they were. He already knew.

"Maneek, you fuel!" Antoine said frustratedly, trying to quickly but gently repack the packages.

"Woah, dude... is that stuff-"

"Shut up! Sombodee could be 'eareeng you!"

"Ant, is that stuff what I think it is?" Sonic asked.

"Zat deepends on what you t'eenk eet eez."

"Well, I'm no expert on drugs, but it looks like... cocaine."

"How much of it is there?"

"Twentee keelos."

"Twenty? Damn."

"Let me see some of that," Manic said, reaching for one of the blocks.

"No! Keep your feelthee 'ands off of zis!"

"Come on, dammit! Just let me see one!"

"I said no!"

"Just gimme that!"

Manic tried to grab the last bag out of Antoine's hand, who only had a half decent grip on it. This was a fatal combination because when Manic tried to pull away it slipped from both his hand and Ant's, it's clear plastic packaging ripping as it did. In slow motion they watched as the block feel to the ground and its white contents spilled onto the ground in between Vector's Mustang and Antoine's BMW. At that moment the garage feel silent as each member present either expected the other to burst out in anger.

"Nice going, bro."

"Well, look on the bright side. At least nobody saw it, right?"

The answer to Manic's question came in the form of an electronic beep at the other end of the garage. The elevator was indicating it was on its way down and would arrive within a very short period of time. Antoine exchanged them both a quick look, then the two brother's looked at each other. Antoine knew he was in trouble regardless of who it was, Sonic and Manic knew if Vector saw either the drugs or Antoine then their cover would be blown. Without hesitation, the three tried to scope up as much of the powder as possible and put it back in the wrapper. Together that had cleaned up as much of the power as possible, but there was still a good deal of it on the ground. Antoine put the package back in the suitcase with the rest of the drugs and shut it, and hurled it into the trunk of his car.

"Shit _shit_ _**shit!**_ What are we gonna do!" Manic said.

"Why don't you use zat brain of yours, Maneek? Oh, zat's right, you are not haveeng one!"

"Don't start that shit now, Antoine!"

"Eef eet wasn't for you we wouldeen't 'ave zis problem!"

"If you hadn't been so secretive and showed me that stuff we'd be cool!"

"Eez zat so! Well, 'ho's zee deek 'ead zat createed zis mess een zee first place!"

"Shut up, you guys! I know what to do!"

"Really?" the other two said to Sonic in unison.

The elevator at the other end of the garage sounded a chime to announce it had arrived and in a few seconds would let out whoever was inside. To answer with words would take too long so Sonic answered with actions. He grabbed Antoine by his shoulders and hurled him into the trunk of his car. He then slammed the trunk lid down, locking Antoine inside inside. Glancing over his shoulder, Sonic spotted a glimpse of green coming out of the elevator. Sonic signaled for Manic to get down.

"Okay, now what?" Manic asked.

"You're gonna stand on the stuff so Vector can't see it. I'll keep Vector to the front half of the car and will block his view to you. Got it?"

"But he'll get suspicious if he sees me just standing here."

"Yo Sonic? Manic? You guys down here?"

"Yeah! We're back here!" Sonic shouted.

He walked away from his brother, leaving him gesturing and mouthing in concern as to what he should do. Just before Sonic left the cover of the other parked cars, he put both his hands behind his back and made a "take pictures" sign. Manic reached for his phone.

"Yo V! Is this it?" Sonic asked, walking out into the garage where Vector could see him.

"How'd you know this was my car?" he asked, walking up.

"I just had a feeling this was it. I saw it earlier in the week when I got back and we parked here. This just seems like the kinda car that you'd keep a low profile about owning because, let's face it, everybody would either want to drive it, ride in it, or steal it."

"Heheheheh! Right, you are! Looks like you sniffed me out. Speaking of which, where's Manic?"

"Back here. I'm trying to take a picture, but its hard because there isn't a lot of light down here."

"I think that's what a flash is for," Sonic commented. "Anyways, you gonna fill us in on this silver beauty here?"

"Gladly. Fellas, say hello to my 2008 Saleen Mustang S302E Sterling Edition. She's a special edition of which only twenty-five were made, and this one in particular is number thirteen of twenty-five. The car's special shade of silver, carbon fiber bits, billet emblems, twenty inch five-spoke rims, and fifteen inch drilled brakes are also unique to this vehicle. On the inside you'll find plenty of black Alcantara, leather, and silver adornments, along with a handful of other luxuries. My favorite parts, however, are the genuine silver 25th anniversary badge on the dashboard and the little red engine start button right below that. All in all, she's the third most beautiful girl I know, behind my wife and daughter, of course."

The whole time Vector had been walking around, pointing out the various things he was talking about. That whole time Sonic had to keep blocking Vector's view to the back of the car and the spot Manic was standing on.

"Well he_lloooooo _beautiful_,_" Sonic said, throwing Manic a look that meant he should act the same way.

"Hello _indeed_. She looks pretty fast."

"That's an understatement. This thing's a beast. It's got a supercharged V8 engine that produces six-hundred and twenty horsepower with six-hundred foot pounds of torque that's mated to a six-speed manual transmission and a rear-wheel drive system. It'll do zero to sixty in under four seconds and a top speed that would probably break two-hundred miles per hour, according to the speedometer. And let me tell you, when you slam that steel accelerator pedal down, the sound and sensations this baby makes is like an addictive drug. You can't get enough of it."

The irony of Vector's use of adjectives made the guts of not only Manic and Sonic jolt, but also Antoine's, who was lying completely still in the trunk of his car. Seeing that Vector wanted to walk around the car a bit, Sonic stopped him by asking another question, even if it was stupid.

"Sounds like driving this car might be better than sex," Sonic joked.

"Well... I don't know about that, but-"

"A little more info than we needed."

"But I didn't say anything!" Vector said with a chuckle.

"It was _implied_."

"Geez, you don't anything do by, do ya?"

"Heheheh, just kidding. So tell me, what did this little slice of automotive heaven set ya back?"

"It had a price tag of a hundred grand, but here's how much I paid for it."

Vector held up his hand and made the zero symbol with it. Both Manic and Sonic's jaws opened slightly, a fact that made Vector smile.

"Bet you're wondering how I got a six-figure priced car for nothing, right? Well, long story short, I got it as part of a payment. Last year my team was hired for a kidnapping case. There was some rich couple about to divorce because the guy had been in a ten-way affair and therefore his wife was going to get a huge chunk of his wealth. Almost predictably, the guy lost his mind, kidnapped the kids in the family and threatened to kill them his she didn't stay with him. We were the ones that helped track down the bastard and stopped him before he could harm any of the kids. After he got put in jail with a rather lengthy sentence, we paid the mother and children a visit to see if they were okay, which thankfully they were."

"That's good. Glad they put that creep behind bars. So I'm guessing then that you said you'd take the car as payment rather than cash?" Sonic asked.

"Pretty much. The story that goes with that is the wife started selling off much of the husband's belongings since they wanted to rid themselves of all traces of the guy. In addition to all the normal stuff, the guy had this huge-ass garage full of cars. Believe it or not, he had a Rolls Royce Phantom, but I didn't want a car that was probably used as a mobile love shack. However, the guy had a few pre-orders in for vehicles for this year. When the wife offered us cash, I asked if we could have some of the vehicles instead. I figured it would be better that way so she could save the cash for the family. Most of them weren't my style, but when I saw this one, I couldn't help but resist. And since it was paid in full already, I didn't have to throw in a dime so Vanilla was fine with it. All I had to do was wait for the V.I.P. treatment to get the car."

"V.I.P. treatment?"

"Oh yeah. Everybody that bought this ride got flown and driven to the factory that made them, all first class of course. Once there we got a factory tour, dinner with the company head honchos, and a whole bunch of cool memorabilia, including a car cover, which I never use for obvious reasons, a photo album of the car being built, and best of all, a leather jacket numbered to match the car which I wear whenever I drive this baby. It was something I'll never forget. And ya know what? I think Vanilla and little Cream had fun too."

Both Manic and Sonic allowed a smile to cross their lips. It was a true smile as it was a very touching story, but it was also a means to keep their cover and prevent Vector from seeing any remnants of the spill.

"So how about a demonstration?" Vector asked.

"I think you know the answer to that V, eh bro?"

"Yup."

"I think Manic has been standing back there on purpose waiting for this. Well, allow me to grant your wish."

Sonic more than gladly took the lead to stand by the back to hide the mess. Sonic's stomach was in knots, as was Manic's, but they both kept a straight face.

"After you hear this baby nothing will ever be the same," Vector said with a smile, getting into his Mustang.

"Bro... move aside" Sonic whispered, motioning to the ground with his eyes.

"Why?," he whispered back.

"Just do it. Quick."

Manic had no idea what his brother was getting at as Vector got into his dream machine. With a slight click, he inserted the key of his car into the ignition and twisted it to the on position. He then let his thumb hover over the small red button in the center console that read "Engine Start." With a grin in the corner of his mouth, Vector slammed his thumb down on the button and the engine began chirping, trying to come to life. There was a few quick belches from the exhaust and then a thunderous anthem began to play from the tail pipes as the high-powered machine. The engine and exhaust noise, which was loud to begin with, was made even more so by the sounds reverberating in the enclosed space of the underground garage.

Though the display was exciting for the hedgehogs standing by, they were more preoccupied with the cocaine on the ground. To Sonic's delight, the flow from the Mustang's center-mounted exhaust pipes was directed at the pile, exactly as he had planned. However, at idle the power of the waft from the pipes wasn't enough to sweep the mess away. Sonic and Manic looked at each other, knowing the simple solution for this.

"What do you think, guys? Is that bad-assed or what?" Vector asked, leaning out of his car.

"Doesn't sound like it," Manic lied.

"Yeah, it sounds a bit wimpy."

"Wimpy? Did you say wimpy? I'll show you a thing or two!"

Vector sat back in his seat and started revving the engine into the low R.P.M.'s. The increased power began to blow bits of the evidence away, but it was far from gone.

"Come on, Vector! You scared or something?" Sonic taunted.

"Yeah, you afraid of your own beast?" Manic added.

"HA! In your dreams!"

Vector pushed the pedal further to the floor, hitting the mid-range revs. Now the powder on the ground was beginning to be blown away, much to Sonic and Manic's happiness.

"Woah yeah, that's gettin' better!"

"Is that all you got, dude!"

"Hell no! Let's push this thing to the limit!"

Now the revs were getting into the high region, approaching the redline, more and more of the spill was being blown away. Sonic and Manic began cheering and wooting to edge Vector on just a bit more. Taking the bait, Vector slammed the gas to the floor and the car hit its rev limit, the engine throttle blipping up and down very fast on the verge of blowing and the supercharger screeching away. As soon as the engine peaked, the mess completely blew away as a cloud, leaving so little behind you could no longer tell anything happened. Letting the gas out the engine calmed and with a turn of the key, it was silenced.

"Well? Questions? Comments?" Vector asked, getting out of the car.

"If you'd revved it any harder it would have blown us away!"

"Once again Sonic, if I had a hundred dollars for every time I'd heard that I'd be driving a Rolls. Hey, now that I'm thinking of it, how'd like like to see the jacket?"

"Sure."

Vector opened the trunk and pulled out a black leather jacket with the car company's insignia stitched into the front and back, along with a matching number "13" stitched in as well.

"Try it on," Vector said.

"Really? Alright... Hey, it fits. I haven't grown that much over the years, have I?" Sonic joked.

"It's like it was made for ya."

"I hear ya."

"In fact... ya know what? Keep it."

"Say _what_?"

"You heard me. Keep it. Consider it a token of my appreciation for the help you gave last night. Plus, I've been meaning to get another one because that one's always been a little small on me. I can't think of a better person to give it to."

"Wow... thanks V. Appreciate it."

"Don't mention it."

"I've got just one question, Vector. You done anything to that car to make it better in any way?" Manic asked.

"Not really. In fact, I think the only thing I put in it is an advanced security system. Between the electronic kill switch, top-of-the-line alarm tamper-detection system, and its GPS tracking unit, ain't no way anybody, and I mean _anybody_, is gonna steal it."

Vector had divulged this fact as casually as he would have if he were giving out his business card. At that moment Vector turned his back to turn off the engine. As he did this, Sonic noticed that Manic was studying the croc.'s every move. As of now Manic's brain was on record mode so that when they came back to pick up this car, he'd know exactly what to do.

"That concludes my demonstration. Unfortunately, duty is calling so I must go up into the lobby and wait for Mighty to show up so we can head to work. If you wish, you guys can come wait with me and I'll fill you in on what we've learned."

"Is that legal to do?" Sonic asked.

"I think I can trust you, Sonic. Hell, you've never done anything to betray me so I think you're entitled to know. And considering who was involved, you've really earned to know the truth."

"Alright, I guess we'll head up with you so-"

"Hold on. Mind if I take a quick picture of him in the jacket next to you car?"

"Be my guest. See ya in the lobby."

The two of them waited until Vector was out of sight and inside the elevator before they did anything. As soon as he was gone, they both let out a sigh of relief. Somehow they'd dodged the bullet and didn't get caught.

"That was close..." Manic admitted.

"_Too_ close."

"Do you t'eek I could be geetteeng out now?" Antoine asked from inside the trunk.

"Yeah, the coast is clear. Where are the keys?"

"Zey are in 'ere weeth me. Eet's okay. Watch zis."

From inside the trunk, Antoine kicked the entire upper portion of the back seat out and crawled into the interior of the car and got out through one of the back doors. Sonic and Manic only shook their heads and snickered.

"Eet's a peece of sheet, I know."

"But what are we gonna do about the... stuff... that got spilled?" Sonic asked.

"Eet's okay. Eet wasn't real."

"What!" the brothers said in unison.

"You mean to tell me that we went through all that for nothing!" Sonic asked angrily.

"I never said eet was drugs, deed I? I said eet was what you t'ought eet was."

"Then what the hell is it?" Manic asked.

"Eet's plain old cookeeng flour. ANd by zee way, zee monee eez fake too."

Sonic and Manic would have been less confused if they'd been given a quantum physics problem to figure out.

"Ant... why the hell are you carrying around twenty kilos of flour in drug-packages and fake money?"

"Do you reemember yesterday when you and I were meeteeng weeth Robotneek 'e said zat Nack 'ad always been a problem for heem?"

"Yeah. He said something about Nack wanting money and drugs and that his actions were troublesome."

"Zat's right. Nack or heez friends 'ad eenside teeps on where Robotneek was sendeeng heez theengs. Therefore, zey 'ad been steeleeng moneey and drugs from transports and drop off points to feed hiz addeections. Last night Robotneek 'ad zese fake cases 'ere een zee'opes zat he would go for zem eenstead of zee real ones. That was not zee case as Nack got zee real ones aneezeeway."

"I'll bet he was pissed as hell to find out he'd gotten the real ones again," Sonic mentioned.

"You got zat right. Zee guy zat set zese 'ere last night 'as already been... dealt weeth."

"Yeah... um, yeah... Well, sucks to be him, I guess..."

"Wait a second, Sonic. There's one thing I'm not getting here. Let's say Nack did go after this stuff last night. What would have happened? I seriously doubt he would have gone quietly if somebody had tried to catch him."

Antoine answered by pulling his thumb across his throat. Though they should have expected such an answer, it still came as a shock to them. Manic, however, still had to know one thing.

"How do you know Robotnik wouldn't want him alive?"

"Eef Robotneek 'as a problem weeth sombodee, he keels zem. No questions asked. I should know."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"Eef I adn't been weeth you guys last night... I would 'ave been on zis job."

"You mean... if Fang _had_ showed up you would have had to-"

"Oui"

"Would that have been the first time, dude?"

"...No..."

Without another word, Antoine went to fixing his back seat. Meanwhile, the truth hit both hedgehogs like a ton of bricks. Robotnik had been using Antoine on assassination missions. With the way Robotnik was, there was no knowing how many times Antoine had been picked for such a gruesome task, but judging by Antoine's sudden mood swing to guilt-ridden and deathly silent, it was their guess that it was too many. All of a sudden rescuing Antoine almost took priority over the impending car theft spree coming up later that night. Sonic and Manic threw a look to each other, each in shock over this new truth.

"Ant... I... I don't know what to say."

"You don't 'ave to be sayeeng aneetheeng."

"But-"

"No buts, Soneek. Words weell not 'elp 'ere."

"But!-"

"I said no words, eez zat clear!"

"Dammit Ant, shut up and listen to me!"

"FUCK YOU!"

Antoine's nostrils flared and his chest heaved as he glared at the hedgehogs. As quickly as his rage came, it began to dissipate, and suddenly Antoine became aware of the wide-eyed gazes his long time friends were giving him. He also noticed that his heart was beating hard in his chest and that he'd been baring his teeth slightly. Antoine's anger visibly left his face, returning him to normal. Looking away in shame,Antoine leaned against his car, burying his face in his hands, his fingers running through his long blond hair. With a deep sigh, Antoine tried to get the residual stress out of his system, but it was no use. He past few months of torture were catching up with him, and Sonic knew it. Walking over to his stressed friend, Sonic patted Antoine on the shoulder. In response, Antoine engaged in a light hug, which this time around didn't bother Sonic at all. He knew his friend needed to be shown somebody cared about what was happening to him.

"Forgeeve me. I am not knoweeng what came over me."

"Forget about it, Ant. Like I told you a few nights ago. I don't hold grudges."

"Merci, Soneek. And for zee record, I'm not angree about you throweeng me eento my trunk. Eet's not zee first time zat's 'appened to me."

"For good or bad reasons?"

"Both."

"Yeesh. Well, glad this is one of the good times. Heheh."

"I guess while we're all cool with each other I'll throw my two cents in. Sorry for being a jackass , dude."

"Forgeet about eet, Maneek. Eet's not eemportant. What _eez_ eemportant eez zat tonight we don't do t'eengs like zat, yes?"

"Yeah. So, we're cool?"

"Oui, we're how you say, cool."

"Sweet."

"And on zat note, I'd best be goeeng. You know who eez expecteeng me back to do a few last meenute theengs so I'll be free for tonight. You two better geet up to Vector so 'e doesn't geet suspeecious and come back down 'ere."

"Alright, but Ant... you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worree about me, Soneek. I'll be fine. Don't sweat zee leettle theengs, yes?"

"Yeah. Well, see ya tonight then."

"Oui. See you zen. Au revoir."

Though they did wave as Antoine drove away, both hedgehog's had to cover their noses and mouths due to the plume of smoke coming from the exhaust of the departing vehicle. Evidently, the engine had decided to start burning oil now. Gagging at the awful smell, the two of them headed towards the elevator, knowing that Vector was probably on the verge of thinking they'd ditched him. Their fears were partially confirmed when the elevator doors opened and they saw Vector outside leaning up against his squad car with Mighty. A quick dash threw the main lobby reunited them al moments later.

"Thought you guys said you were going to take a picture. You end up taking a whole photo album or something?" Vector asked, jokingly.

"Sorry. We got held up down there. We were, uhh... helping some guy out who's suitcase accidently opened and dumped his belongings all over the place."

"Ah. Well, in that case, I can understand."

"You guys alright?" Mighty asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, after last night, I mean-"

"Oh oh! Yeah! Nah, we're fine. Just a bit eager to find out what you guys found out what you guys have learned," Sonic answered, a little too quickly.

"That now makes two of us, Sonic. Just after Mighty got here in my car a call came through for us saying that even _more _new info. has been found. At this point we don't have any details so, if you want, you can follow us to our headquarters and we'll update ya on everything."

"That's too tempting to resist. How bout it bro?"

"Might as well. I'll go get the car."

"No you won't."

"Huh?"

"_Valet_ will go get the car."

"Oh come on, dude. You know I don't like fancy shit."

"And you know I don't like waiting around. And in this case, that makes two of us when you through in Vector's rush as well."

With a reluctant sigh, Manic tossed his parking chip to the valet attendant. As they waited for the car to come up, Sonic and Manic checked out Vector's squad car that they'd heard about earlier. It's leather trimmed interior, wood accents, and numerous amenities made it look like a rolling hotel room and Sonic could see exactly why Vector would choose it as his squad car.

"Once again, sweet ride," Sonic commented.

"Thank you."

"Why was it in town though? I mean, if the Escalade if your wife's car, how do you commute?"

"Normally I take this one home, but last night's incident put a few holes in it, including a tire. I had to drive it to the hospital and shop on the spare and then got a ride home in a cab."

"So I take it the Mustang always stays here?" Manic asked.

"Yup. Since I'm a member of a few clubs here at the hotel they allow me to keep my car parked here at all times. For free, of course, otherwise my wife wouldn't be too happy."

"Don't you ever worry about it getting, say, scratched, dented, or worse, stolen?" Manic asked nonchalantly.

"Nope. The security is pretty good here at the hotel, and with my security systems in it, ain't no way anybody is ever gonna get away with it."

Sonic knew all too well that Manic and just probed Vector for more information. To know that the Mustang was always there and that Vector kept his squad car at home meant that their chances of getting away with stealing the car without Vector catching them was high. On one hand, Sonic welcomed the information as it meant stealing the elusive automobile wouldn't be as risky as he thought it would. On the other hand, he felt terrible because both of them were betraying Vector right before his eyes and there was no way he knew about it. Even after all he'd been through, the guilt got through to Sonic just enough and they showed themselves.

"Hey Sonic, you alright?" Mighty asked.

"I'm just... thinking about last night. The car chase, the accident, the shoot out, and... what happened to Nack. Even if he was a drug-driven maniac that's broken more laws than have been written, I still think he shoulda gone to jail," Sonic lied.

"If it makes you feel any better Sonic, I'm with ya on that one," Mighty added.

"I am too, Sonic. But you have to understand that with the way he was last night, there was no negotiating with him. And when you find out what we did once we get to out H.Q., you'll see what I mean. Just know you didn't do anything wrong, Sonic. You've done _nothing wrong_. _**Nothing**_. You're completely innocent. Trust me."

At that moment the valet pulled up in Mina's Corvette. Without another word, Sonic turned and headed towards the car.

"You wanna drive?" Manic asked.

"Sure... whatever."

Manic looked back at the two detectives and shrugged, but the shrug was a lie. Though Vector and Mighty would never know it at the moment, Manic knew his brother wasn't thinking about Nack. Getting into the car there were a lot of things Manic could have said then, but chose not to. He knew it wouldn't do anything to change his brother's mood or mind. With a click of the key, Sonic started up their car and began to follow Vector's as it pulled away from the hotel.

Sonic's mind was a torrent of guilt-ridden thoughts. Despite what Vector had said and thought, he was guilty, he had done things wrong, and he was a traitor in a sense. A traitor of not just the law, but what he stood for. Either way Sonic knew the night was going to come and and with it a deed that would forever be on his conscience. There was no avoiding that. He wished that there would be somebody to help him through it. Sure, there was going to be his brother and sister, not to mention his uncle and all his closes friends. Even so, he felt that none of them truly knew how he felt.

Unbeknownst to Sonic, for a good portion of his stay at the hotel that he had been under surveillance. Currently, a pair of eyes peering around a curtain high above on the top floor of the hotel watched as the two cars disappeared around the corner past the train station. The curtains fell back, hiding the identity of the unseen sleuth.


	17. Back Again

**Author's Notes:**

It looks like I broke my promise yet again. I swore I'd never make you wait this long for an update, but once again my ever-hectic lifestyle has taken up much of my life. Granted, this website's login and document manager has been on the blitz for nearly two weeks, severely delaying my work on getting it done.

As per usual I've been fixing minor errors or little things along the way that I didn't like. Most of these aren't very significant or important, but if you notice a few little things that have been changed, you'll know of these changes are even vividly mentioned in the chapter, so those who are really paying attention will notice the changes. I won't go into them all or why, just know I did them to make it better.

The only MAJOR change was a correction in continuity. You may recall in chapter fifteen Sonic asked his brother about the attempt on Mina's life. The only problem is that at that point Sonic hadn't mentioned it to anybody, so asking about it didn't make sense. Therefore, I simply removed that conversation. I only bring this up because it's mentioned in this chapter and sets up for a series of events about to happen.

All reviews/criticisms/suggestions welcomed and appreciated as always.

* * *

**Chapter 17 - Back Again  
**

It took about a half hour to reach the Chaotix Headquarters, making it roughly 2:00 P.M. This lapse of time gave Sonic a chance to roll things over in his head and shake off the funk he felt back at the hotel. The feelings were far from gone, but at least he felt good enough to be able to put on a plausible front so as to not give away the secret held deep within his mind. Manic had become aware of this also when halfway through the trip Sonic had leaned over from the driver's seat, clicked on the car's radio, and tuned in a station playing rock blues. Pulling into the driveway of the H.Q. later on the brothers had the radio blasting while snapping their fingers and bobbing their heads to the music, a sight which both Vector and Mighty were glad to see in their rear view mirrors.

"Well, I'm glad you two are feeling better, especially you Sonic," Vector commented, exiting his squad car.

"You'd be surprised what a little music can do, V. It's the best medicine for a bad mood."

"Then in that case we'll put some on inside. Come on."

Entering the headquarters, they were met with a room that was cluttered with numerous folders, dossiers, files, and numerous cases full of evidence from last night's shooting. Of particular interest Sonic noted a few clear evidence bags that had Nack's belongs that he'd had last night in them, as well as bags that held Bark's and Bean's as well. He also noted bags will 7.62x54R bullet shells in them, a large case that held the Dragunov SVD rifle Nack had used the night before, and another case that held Nack's revolvers. There were two bags, however, that really startled Sonic when he saw them. One contained a bunch of water-damaged papers, one of which Sonic could tell was the remainder of the car list Manic had planted last night. The other, as disgusting as it was, held Nack's over-sized tooth, which he figured must have been knocked out in the crash. All in all, the entire place looked like all the evidence had ended up there instead of the S.S.P.D.

"Damn! All this for one crime scene?" Sonic asked.

"You'd be surprised how quickly it adds up, Sonic. Considering how much happened last night, I'm surprised there's not three times the stuff here."

"But what's it all doing here? I mean, I know you guys were part of this last night, but shouldn't this be with the S.S.P.D.?"

"Technically yes, but after a few discoveries we've made, we needed this evidence present so we could finish our report on the case we've been working on."

"What case was that?"

"Don't you know? Oh wait, that's right. I haven't gotten around to telling you yet. Guess you should pull up a chair while I fill you guys in. While I'm doing that, Mighty, think you can give the S.S.P.D. a call to tell them we're working on this stuff?"

"Yeah, sure."

As Mighty went off to make the car, Vector gathered up a few pieces of evidence that he was going to refer to both from last night's event and from a few nights ago when the warehouse was raided. At that moment, Sonic couldn't help but notice that aside from the four of them, the headquarters seemed a bit quiet.

"Hey V. Where's everybody else?"

"My guess is that Charmy is in the break room snoozing. He and Mighty got here a bit early to cover for me while I caught up with you."

"So what about Espio?"

"He's off for the day. I gave him break after what he had to do last night. He hasn't been too good since," Vector said as his shoulders slouched.

"You mean because he killed Fang?"

"Yup," he answered with a sigh.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Well, you know Espio... He's got his principles and he hates to deviate from them. Killing an unarmed person, no matter the circumstances, is one of his biggest rules."

"But Nack was going apeshit last night! How could he have not shot him?"

"Well, I think that's why he's so upset. On one hand, he broke one of his rules, but on the other hand he didn't have a choice."

"Seems it was just his fate to do what he did."

"That's what I said. Funny thing fate, isn't it? It's like, you can go through your whole life and do nothing wrong and then one day you're put in a spot where you have to do the wrong thing because it's the right thing. Weird, ya know?"

"Uhh... yeah! Totally! I mean, well sorta. Depends on how ya look it it because-" Sonic stammered.

"_Anyway_... what about Nack and how he deals with you case?" Manic interrupted, not wanting anything stupid to happen.

"Yeah, about that. Kinda got off on a philosophical opinion trail there for a second. Let's stick to facts, shall we?"

Vector pulled up a chair and gathered up various pieces of evidence. Needless to say, both Manic and Sonic were nervous to see if Vector had any information that might make their lives more difficult than it already was.

"Let me start by asking a question. Have either one of you two been keeping up with the news lately?"

"Not really, I've been... well, I _was_ working on my Camaro recently. Other than that, just chillin'," Manic answered.

"And considering I just got back into town I haven't heard anything."

"So I take it you both didn't know about the big car theft operation that was discovered earlier this week?"

Both hedgehog's shook their heads no, both knowing the real answer. Vector handed them some of Charmy's photographs from earlier in the week.

"That's what we found. As you can see, it was a high-end operation."

"You got _that_ right," Sonic commented.

"Any idea of who did it?" Manic asked calmly.

"Well, over the past few days we kept searching for info but came up with little to nothing. That is until last night."

"Wait... you saying that this was Fang's work?" Sonic asked.

"It would appear so. After I had an ambulance take you to the hospital your brother helped us investigate the scene. Manic went into the sewers and found Nack's hat that had been swept away. When we looked inside we finally found the answer we'd been looking for. Inside that hat was a list of top-of-the-line automobiles, a number of which matched those found at the crime scene earlier in the week."

"Hmph. Well, Nack always did do just about anything for money."

"Ain't that the truth. It's a damn shame the list was messed up the way it was, but there's no denying the connections between it. We're pretty sure that we've got our man... even though he's dead, of course."

"Then again... how can you be sure it was him?" Manic asked.

"We think it's him because in addition to the warehouse of cars, the vehicle he was driving, the black Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, was also stolen. Twice, in fact."

A jolt went through both hedgehog's guts at hearing this new fact. Clearly there was more to Nack than they had expected.

"A bit of back-tracing showed us that it had originally been purchased legally by one of the numerous wealthy shmucks in this city. Turns out that person was involved in a number of shady business deals gone bad. He was later assassinated by a professional killer and the Jeep was stolen as a getaway vehicle. That killer was then killed and the Jeep stolen again, this time by Nack."

"Any idea who the middleman was?" Manic asked.

"Middle_woman, _actually. It was his sister, Nicolette, AKA Nic."

"Say what!"

"You serious dude?"

"I am. Nack had a few pieces of correspondence in the vehicle confirming this fact. A close inspection of the revolvers Nack had revealved that Nic had etched her name into them. Plus, we found of picture of Nic murdered which we can tell wasn't faked. Let's leave it at that."

"Yeesh... I knew Fang and his sis were always rivals, but damn! Does Nack leave anybody alive that he meets?"

"Apparently not, Sonic. Turns out last night Bark and Bean didn't die from the crash. They were murdered. Autopsy reports that came in just a short while ago confirmed both of them had been strangulated and then had their necks broken in an execution style. I think you can guess who did _that_."

"Yeah... I think we get it."

"I hear that, dude. It's pretty damn freaky to kill your friends for... actually, why did he kill them in the first place?"

"I'm guessing the same reason he killed his sister. They all betrayed him... Judging by your puzzled looks, let me explain. A while back Nic, according to evidence we found, tampered with one of Nack's guns on a night he went to kill... somebody... for a job. When he failed, he lost his reputation and nobody gave a damn about him. As a result, Nack had to find out who did this if he wanted to regain his rep. Someway somehow he found out it was his ongoing rivalry with his sister and he tracked her down and killed her. From then on, Nack was known for killing anybody that betrayed him. Now, how does all this tie in with his teammates? Again, this is all speculation right now, but my guess is that last night after the crash Nack was pissed that Bark and Bean were either too injured to go on, or that he was now in danger of being captured, or that the two of them had failed to help him kill you guys. Hell, it might even be a combo of the three. Either way, Nack didn't accept anybody doing anything to him that he felt was disloyal. Basically, it was his way, or the highway."

Both hedgehog's were genuinely surprised at that point from everything they'd just learned. On one hand, they couldn't believe that they'd stumbled upon such an involved case that clearly ran a long way back without much know-how of it. At the same time, both of them knew that with such a complicated case, the Chaotix, and the entire police force for that matter, would no be tangled up in this, leaving them with less to worry about tonight. They could have left it at that, but Sonic had to get in one last thing.

"Vector... I hope you're not too angry about this, but there's one more thing you should know that I know about my run-ins from Nack, specifically two nights ago."

"Like I said, anything you have to tell me, please do so."

"You censored yourself when you were talking about the job that got sabotaged for Nack. I know it was Mina that he went after."

Both Sonic's brother and the detective raised their eyebrows in surprise, more so Manic than Vector.

"And you get on _my_ case for being dumb sometimes. Dude, why the hell didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because... I thought it might cause everybody to panic. I figured things were already bad enough with me getting beaten up so I kept it on the hush-hush."

"And I'm glad you did, Sonic. Mina's a good girl and doesn't need to know about such things."

"Yeah... I know."

Just then Mighty ended his lengthy phone call with the S.S.P.D. and reentered the room. Even for somebody as laid back as him, the armadillo looked rather stressed out.

"What's up, Mighty?" Vector asked.

"I think I just got every warning and threat known to exist since we're so far behind on this work. If we don't get moving on it right about _now_ then we're gonna be in some pretty deep you know what."

"Yeah well, those S.S.P.D. punks are usually all talk and no action. Even so, we should get to work. Sonic, Manic, I think we've discussed all we need to. If there aren't any questions or comments, then I'll dismiss you to go about your business."

Sonic didn't have to answer after that. Even though it was horrible news, he still felt compelled to tell Mina the truth. Something like this wasn't something he could keep a secret forever and Vector knew it just by looking at him.

"I know that look, Sonic. It'll bug you if you don't tell so you're going to do it anyway."

"You know me all too well."

"Vector, do you think that's a good idea? I mean, finding out that somebody tried to kill you without your knowledge isn't exactly easy to hear," Mighty asked.

"I know, I know. Sonic... are you sure she has to know about this?"

"You know I can't keep something like this a secret. You know I do everything in my power to protect those I care about, even if it means sometimes doing something that isn't really the right thing."

"I knew you'd say something like that... Alright look, just tell her what she needs to know, okay? Don't go into the detail I went with you."

"Alright. I can do that."

"Then hop to it, Sonic."

"Will do. See you two later. Good luck with your investigation."

"Thanks... Guys?" Vector asked.

"Yeah?"

"Sup?"

"Take care of yourselves."

Their answers came in the form of a thumbs up and a peace sign.

* * *

Meanwhile in another section of town, Mina was standing in the kitchen of her penthouse condominium high above the city. It was a finely furbished dwelling with high-quality items throughout, along with numerous references to Mina's successful music career. Normally when Mina came to visit this home-way-from-home she felt quite comfortable and happy to be there. Given the events that had just transpired over the past few days, that feeling had been greatly reduced. Whatever pleasure Mina had left from visiting her Station Square condo had vanished just a short while ago when an unexpected visitor showed up. Grabbing two glasses filled with fresh-made lemonade, Mina took a seat in the living room with her guest.

"So... uhh... how's the lemonade?"

"I didn't come here to talk about drinks. I need to know what you know about what Sonic's up to."

"I already told you that I'm not the most informed about this. Moreover, I'm not very comfortable with this either."

"And do you think I'm any more comfortable not knowing what has been going on around here?"

"But why _me_? Why did you track _me_ down and why are you making _me_ do this?"

"Because I know you know what's going on more than anybody else right now because you're the only one that's been in contact with Sonic since last night."

"How… how do you know that?"

"Don't answer my question with a question. Tell me what you know about Sonic and what he's up to"

"But I didn't talk to Sonic last night. I talked to Manic."

"It's good enough. Now get to talking. I heard you on the phone talking about something dealing with tonight when I got here and you're going to tell me what's going on."

"And what if I don't? What are you going to do?"

"What I must."

"Oh, and what's that? Call the cops? You don't have the evidence to do that. Beat me up, maybe? I would _love_ to see you try _that_. Or maybe you think you can make me feel guilty for keeping a secret about all of this, perhaps?"

"This is your last chance, Mina. Cooperate or prepare to face the consequences."

"So you've stooped to this level, is that it? You think just by using some cowardly threats you can make me do whatever you want! Well guess what! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU THINK OR WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO BECAUSE I AM **NOT** GOING TO BETRAY MY FRIENDS AND I'M DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO DO IT FOR **YOU!**"

The look on the person opposite Mina was enough to tell her that she'd just made a big mistake by not cooperating. She knew all too well that some sort of trouble was now on its way. In fact, she was quite prepared for a fist fight at this point.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"..."

"If you're not going to _give_ me what I want willingly... then I'll _force_ you to give it to me."

Suddenly Mina's worst hunches were confirmed. She found herself on the receiving end of a gun barrel and, to complicate things, there was no way she could dodge a bullet at this distance with so little room with which to move around in. She was a hostage now. There was no getting around it.

"Now that I have your attention, it's time to get down to business."

"Alright, fine... I'll cooperate."

"It's too late for that. Now we are going to do things _my_ way."

Mina found herself being looked down upon by her now standing captor, her ability to hide fear quickly fading.

"Wh... what are you gonna do?"

"Like I said before... what I must."

* * *

A few minutes later found Sonic behind the wheel of Mina's Corvette and Manic slouching in the passenger seat. Neither of them had said much since they'd left, but for varying reasons. For Manic, it was a sense of relief knowing that they'd dodged a huge bullet and now had a lot of attention diverted off of them. On the other hand, Sonic was trying to deal with the guilt of everything he'd just done. In the short time he'd just spent with Vector he'd done more lying than he had over the six years he'd been away. It was for that reason that Sonic chose to drive since it took his mind off his guilt. Compared to how excited they'd been when they arrived at Vector's, Manic was so disappointed that now they were right back to where they started. Not only that, but he was beginning to get quite frustrated.

"Dude?"

"What?..." Sonic responded miserably.

"You cool?"

"Do I look it?"

"I don't know why your upset. I mean, think about how dangerous that was."

"Don't you mean how _cowardly_ that was?"

"I think you're missing the bigger point here. The fact is that Vector doesn't suspect us in the least. Even better, Espio, who I considered our only other true threat, is so lost in his own thoughts he's not even gonna come _close_ to pinning this on us. They way I look at it, this is probably the best off we've been all week."

"Whatever."

Manic decided to drop it at that. A few minutes later they arrived entered Route 101 to get across the city to Mina's condominium that she had in Station Square. Out of nowhere a black with flame decal 1966 Pontiac GTO that was set up with dragster wheels and suspension blew passed them and went through the red light. No sooner had it done so the car screeched to a halt and reversed back next to them on the passenger side.

"No _fuckin'_ way! Is that the little blue punk-ass-bitch I think it is!"

Looking over, neither Sonic or Manic could believe who was in the car. In the driver's seat a green hedgehog with red-rimmed sunglasses, a black with flames leather jacket, and two huge scars on his chest.

"Damn! Where'd you two get a nice set of wheels like that? Did Manic steal it for you?"

Manic glared at the macho hedgehog, but Sonic cut off his brother to avoid a conflict.

"Beat it, Scourge. I ain't in the mood for you or your shit right now." Sonic said, barely looking over.

"Aww, is that the hello I get after all these years? I think I could cry!"

"Go ahead. It would certainly brighten up my day."

"HA! I see you still think you're hot shit over me. Let me remind you that you're not. I mean, between me kicking your ass in a fight, beating your ass in a race, and and knocking your ass down in every other way, I figure I must have some advantage over you."

"You sure seem to have an interest in asses these days. Is this some sort of new preference for you?"

"Hey! Don't talk to my man like that!"

A red vixen with brunette hair and skin-tight black leather clothing had leaned forward from the passenger seat to be seen and heard. Once again, both brother's knew who they were looking at.

"Still together with Fiona, huh?"

"Yeah, what of it blue boy? Last I checked you're driving around with your douche bag brother rather than a chick in your piss yellow piece of junk over there." Scourge snapped.

"Maybe so, but at least my bro is somebody I can trust. Considering how unpredictable and unreliable Fiona is, I woulda thought she'd _fallen to her knees_ for another man."

"FUCK YOU SONIC!" Fiona shouted at him.

"Watch it, asshole! That's my girl you're talking about!"

"Don't you mean bitch?"

Both Scourge and Fiona snarled at Manic's comment while Manic stifled a laugh, knowing that if he let it out it would only infuriate his old rivals even more. It looked like Scourge was going to get out of his car, but then he smirked with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Apparently both of you think you can be assholes and get away with it. I'd kick both your asses right now, but since we're both in such bangin' cars, let's say we race?"

Looking over at his brother, Manic went to say something, but Sonic stopped him.

"_Not gonna happen_," Sonic insisted.

"I was just going to say... smoke him."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Heh... With pleasure."

"And with ease in this ride."

"Hell yeah. Alright Scourge, you want a race? You got it! Juice time!"

With the activation of the green light they were off, Scourge's drag car popping a wheelie off the start The next thing the two of them knew they were in the middle of an illegal race down Route 101. For a good stretch they weaved in and out of cars until the high-speed lanes opened up and they proceeded to enter them and put the gas pedals to the floor. Scourge's older car, though fast and powerful, was simply no match for their modern piece of machinery Sonic had. Sonic actually had to let up to give Scourge a chance, something that the green hedgehog wasn't too thrilled about. For a little while they kept this up until Sonic felt that he'd proven that he indeed had the faster car and would beat them every time. Sonic got ready to speed off down the road, but not before one last prank. Looking over just enough to see his competition, Sonic bit his right middle finger in the "eat me" symbol while Manic flipped them off with both his middle fingers pulling down the skin around his eyes. With a quick downshift, Sonic slammed the gas down and within a few seconds Scourge was far behind. After a bit more high-speed driving, Sonic slowed down, knowing that they were far enough ahead now.

"Dude, you so totally pwned him!"

"You ain't gotta tell me that! I'm the one that's driving, after all!"

"I can't believe that creep though he had a chance of beating us!"

"That's Scourge for ya. But enough of that asshole. We didn't shoot past Mina's place, did we?"

"Uhh... hold on, there's a sign coming up. Let's see."

Luckily they hadn't passed their exit. In fact, their off ramp was only two miles ahead, and at sixty miles per hour, that meant they'd be there in about two a minute and three quarters later Manic pointed out the ramp they needed to get to. Manic looked into his passenger mirror at the same instant Sonic looked into the rear view mirror to check if it was safe to cross the lanes when thy both spotted Scourge's GTO headed right for them at the same time.

"DUDE WATCH-"

"HANG ON!"

Scourge apparently felt that their race hadn't ended and had caught up with them. Additionally, he was angered beyond rationality at the disrespect they'd been shown. Knowing that it was too late and too dangerous to accelerate with a bunch of cars that now surrounded them, Sonic slammed on the brakes and just managed to avoid a collision. Scourge shot by in front of them and headed right towards the center divider. He tried to turn back away, but it was too late. The GTO slammed sideways into the center divider and, due to its inclined shape, caused it to ricochet off and flip over at the same time. No longer to keep any type of control, the overturned vehicle scrapped across the lanes in a shower of spark, luckily not hitting any other cars, and slammed into the retaining wall. All of this had happened right in front of Sonic and Manic.

"Holy shit!"

"Dude, pull over, pull over!"

Sonic cut back across the lanes and pulled over on the shoulder as well. Behind they watched as the GTO ground to a halt about a hundred feet behind them.

"Damn, that was bad!"

"You think they're dead, dude?"

"Only one way to find out."

Sonic shifted into reverse and backed up to the wreck, a move that Manic had not expected.

"What the hell are you doing! Don't you think the cops are probably on their way here right now!"

"That's exactly why we're stopping. Like you said, we're trying to look innocent. If we leave now they'll just hunt us down and then we'll be in even more trouble."

"Dammit, this is crazy! Let's ditch now!"

"You mean like you did on the night you got caught?"

That statement quieted Manic. He realized the point of his brother's words and knew that if they left the cops would indeed look for them like they did they did a few nights ago when the first attempt at the job failed. Realizing he wouldn't win this argument, Manic nodded and the two of them carefully exited their Murciélago and approached the smoking, inverted wreck. Getting down on his knee, Sonic lowered himself down to the remaining open space between the window and collapsed roof.

"Scourge? Fiona? You guys alright?"

"**FUCK YOU!**" they both shouted from inside.

"Yup... they're cool," Sonic cracked.

There was, however, nothing to laugh about as the last thing Sonic had wanted to see was approaching them. It was officer Speed's hi-speed pursuit car. He'd obviously gotten the call about the accident and was sent to investigate. Looking up, Sonic discovered his brother actually looked a bit frightened as he knew the rivalry between the two of them. Sonic, however, was cool. He had a plan.

"Manic, I know you're the one with experience in this department, but just let me do the talkin', got it?"

Sam Speed pulled over in front of the scene, his car's lights flashing brightly. He approached the two hedgehogs with a look of smug authority on his face.

"Well well well... I knew there was a reason I got out of bed today."

"Heh, I'm surprised you even make the effort to sleep. Unless of course you were showing one of your girlfriends _how fast you really are_."

"What have you done here, Sonic?" Sam asked, unamused.

"I've been a witness to an accident, that's what."

"Don't you mean a _cause_ of one?"

"Nope. I didn't cause the crash. The other driver did."

"The fuck I didn't you lying bastard!" Scourge spat form inside.

"Ahh... Is that Scourge I hear in that monstrosity of a road machine?"

"No, it's the fucking tooth fairy!"

"Hmph... Short-tempered and foul-mouthed as always. And might I assume that you're damsel-in-distress is with you as well in there?"

"Call me that again and you'll be stuck talking like a mouse I'll have kicked you between the legs so hard!"

"Threatening an officer of the law now too? My my, aren't we all not behaving well today? Well, except me of course. I'm doing everything I should be doing."

"Then how come you haven't set up any warning flares or helped get those two out yet?" Sonic pointed out smugly.

Sam Speed squinted at Sonic as if to say "Don't push you're luck," but did proceed to do the things Sonic had suggested. After setting up some red warning flares, Sam retried a portable version of the "jaws-of-life" pry tool and managed to pop open the driver's side door. Scourge and Fiona were actually for the most part alright since they hadn't been going too fast and were smart enough to have their seat belts on. Fiona only had some bumps and bruises while Scourge had a a slight nose bleed and bump on the head from having hit the steering wheel when they'd flipped.

"Would you like me to call an ambulance to take you to the hospital for your _wounds_?" Sam teased.

"You should call one, but not for me. I got a score to settle with the punk over here that wrecked my ride."

"Careful, Scourge. You might have a concussion. Wouldn't want to end up in a coma from a single punch, would ya?"

"Speak for yourself!"

"That's enough!," Sam ordered, stepping between the two of them. "I will not allow any more bad behavior on this highway today!"

"Fine! Just arrest that blue prick over there for what he did!"

"You sure seem to be into the male body today, Scourge."

"WHY YOU SON-OF-A-"

"**ENOUGH!** BOTH OF YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW OR I WILL ARREST YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

It took a moment for Scourge to cool off, but once he had Sam had the four of them move to the far side of the shoulder for safety. It was then that he listened to both of their stories and tried to determine who, if anybody, was telling the truth.

"As I expected... both of you are claiming that the other started this whole thing. On one hand, I'd sooner want to believe his word since I _know_ he's a good guy."

"A compliment for me from you? Sam, you shouldn't have!"

"_However_... Judging by what Scourge told me, what he described to me sounds _exactly_ like something you would say to get him all riled up. Though Scourge has never done anything to gain my trust, based upon you're actions here, Sonic, I'm actually more inclined to believe him more than you at this point."

"Is that so? I'm surprised, Sam. It sounds to me that even though you've had dealings with Scourge before, and I'm guessing it was with driving-related offenses, you're leaning more towards me just because you want to see me in trouble because of our rivalry. Of course, that's only my opinion. In the end, your opinion about what happened here is what counts. So what's it gonna be, Sam? Your old rival, or your number one offender?"

Manic's insides were churning about at the new threat. At any moment he expected the handcuffs to come flying out and they'd be on their way to some rank prison cell and the whole job for the evening would be blown. Fiona and Scourge stood with defiant looks on their face at Sonic, but the hedgehog only kept his eyes on Sam's. After a few minutes of thinking, the officer had made up his mind.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood today. Any other day I wouldn't have hesitated to cuff all of you... Get out of here... _All_ of you."

Though Sonic kept a cool look, Manic was surprised in a good way while the two malefactors were surprised in an angry way. They'd hoped to see Sonic arrested for the accident, obviously, and were disappointed that it wasn't going to happen.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me! Look what they did to my car! And you're just gonna let them walk away like nothing happened!"

"I'd watch it if I were you, Scourge. Your record has enough counts on it that you should already be in jail. Consider yourself lucky that I'm cutting you this break. And the same for you, Sonic. For somebody as responsible as you, I'm surprised that you're a part of this, regardless of how big or small a role you've played."

"And exactly _why_ are you letting us all go?"

"Shut up!" Manic whispered through his teeth.

"I didn't see either of you do what you did You were lucky enough to do what you did in an area of the highway where the surveillance cameras are down for maintenance, and any witnesses I might have are no longer around. Therefore, I'm letting you all go for one reason and one reason _only_... I didn't catch you in the act. Now, if you'll excise me, I'm going to go call a tow truck for your vehicles."

"_Vehicle**sss**?_" Sonic asked.

"I said I was letting _you _go, but I _didn't_ say I was letting your cars go. Not that it matters for Scourge anyway, but you get my drift."

Sonic watched as Sam walked back to his squad car to make the call. Manic's heart was beating so fact it hurt. Needless to say, Scourge and his girl were more than pleased that at least some justice was going to be brought upon the two brothers.

"As pissed as I am about my car, _that_ just made my day," Scourge said with a grin.

"Guess you two are gonna have to walk home now," Fiona taunted.

"Sonic, what the hell are we gonna do!" Manic said quietly, pulling his brother aside.

"Remember what I said about letting me talk?"

"Yeah?"

"Watch this."

Sonic jogged over to Sam's squad car and started conversing with him, though it was impossible to hear due to the traffic rushing past and the normal sounds of the city. Manic switched between looking at the conversation and the disgusting looks of confidence on the faces of the two beatniks. Suddenly, Sonic reached into the squad car and pulled out a CD case. Even at the distance they were at, Manic recognized it instantly and couldn't help but smile.

"What are _you_ so happy about?" Scourge asked.

"I'll let Sonic tell you," Manic said coolly.

Sonic as now returning to the scene while Sam looked on with a facial expression somewhere between disbelief and a desire for revenge. Sonic could not have looked any more confident in himself at that moment.

"Let's go bro."

"Coolness."

"Woah woah woah, wait a damn minute! One second you're about to get towed, and now you're just allowed to leave while me and my girl are stuck here with a busted-ass ride!"

"Do either of you know what the CD was that I picked up?"

After both of them shook their heads no, Sonic looked to Manic and said "Tell them, Manic."

"Does the first ever winner of Mobian Idol mean anything to either of you?"

Both of them suddenly looked disgusted beyond belief. It was all clear now.

"That's right you two. This car belongs to Mina Mongoose, the now-world famous winner of that program. And it seems that Sam Speed is a fan of her and he just couldn't live with himself if he had her car towed away. Sam said he'd let us take the car as long as I got an autograph for him and so long as we didn't ever pull a stunt like this again, which I assured him we wouldn't. Would you like me to get you guys one since we're headed over to her to return this baby to her?"

"Actually you could tell her to jump off a roof for me instead. It's because of her I didn't make it to the finals of that damn show!" Fiona spat.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is! She only won because she's so famous for having helped in the war! That purple-haired bitch didn't deserve to win! Make sure you tell here that!"

"Sorry Fiona, but I don't do other people's dirty work. And ya know what? Even if you did tell her, I don't think she'd care. And on the note of Mina, I think we'll be going now."

The two brothers happily got into the Corvette celebrating their hard-fought right to be free. Starting the engine, Sonic cranked up some rock music and shifted into first gear to pull away.

"Have fun riding in the tow truck!" Sonic yelled as they pulled back onto the road.

At this point their exit ramp was only a quarter mile away, so they pulled into the slow lane to cruise to it. In the rear view they both watched as Scourge and Fiona stood next to the totaled GTO, looking in disbelief and anger. They also passed by Sam Speed who gave them one last glare of bitterness, but this only made Sonic fell even better. Pulling onto the exit ramp seconds later, Sonic and Manic were ecstatic that once again they'd defied the odds and gotten away. For the time being, at least.

* * *

Mina was now tied to a kitchen chair with a towel tied around her mouth as a gag. As she sat she could hear her captor rummaging about various parts of her condo, looking for any clues that could be found. These noises were intermixed with grunts and verbalizations of frustration as the search was not going well. As she sat Mina tried tugging at the ropes that bound her, but they held tight. With a final yell of anger and a slam on the wall, Mina was once again rejoined by her captor and had her gag forcefully removed.

"Take it easy, will ya!"

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

"A minute ago all you wanted me to do was talk and now you want me to shut up. Make up your mind."

"Dammit, shut your mouth! I know that there's an answer somewhere in this damn place and you've hidden it! Tell me where it is right now! ANSWER ME!"

Mina could only laugh as an answer, only enraging her captor even more.

"You know, you're really not cut out for this hostage-torture thing. You can't even make up your mind over whether I should talk or not, let alone actually finding what you're looking for."

"Don't make me shoot you. I really don't want to do it, but I will if have to."

"I'm starting to question whether or not you'll do that."

"Don't push your luck, Mina. Don't push your luck."

The search continued as Mina sat in her chair, still trying to struggle free. Just then, however, she heard something that made her heart jump. Despite being nearly thirty floors above the city, there was a clearly distinct sound of a loud engine echoing up through the buildings and reached the penthouse. Mina recognized it instantly as her Corvette.

_"Sonic... no... Not now... Of all times not now!"_

These thoughts only made her try to get free even faster, knowing that if Sonic showed up now nothing good would come of it. Unfortunately, there was little she could do strapped to a chair and a gag in her mouth.

_"I've got to do something!... Think Mina, think!..."_

* * *

Thirty stories below Sonic parked Mina's car into a spot marked "Reserved Parking: Penthouse Suite." Before exiting he raised the convertible top and gave the engine one last batch of revs before silencing the engine and arming the car's alarm system.

"Ya know something, bro? When this is all over, we need to get us a ride like this."

"No thank you."

"Oh come on. It would be fun! You and me cruisin' the freeways, taking on the curvy suburb back roads, hell we could even take it to the track every now and then if we wanted to."

"I admit I'd like that, just not with a car like this."

"Why not?"

"Cuz I don't like fancy-shmancy shit. You know that."

"Right right, I know. You refuse to live a little bit and like to stick to sub-par things like that clunker of a Camaro you had."

"Hey, that was a damn nice car. If it hadn't been wrecked last night I could finished my work on it and gotten it back to tip-top shape. I learned a lot of my driving skills on that baby."

"Does that include driving head-on into a t-bone crash with another car?"

"You know what I mean. But speaking of skills, I wanted to say that you've really impressed me today, dude. Not only did you master stick shift in a flash, but you've taken a car to two-hundred, you've handled both high speed and low speed driving under various conditions, and you even managed to keep cool and talk your way out of more than one tight situation."

"How good on a scale from one to ten?"

"Let's just say that you did better than I could have in all of them. And coming from me and the history I have, that's saying something."

Sonic didn't say anything in response but only nodded and appeared to be pondering. Manic, however, feared that he'd said too much and made his brother fall into another guilt trip.

"You cool?"

"Actually... yeah. I'm fine. I'm not the most proud about some of the things I did today, but not all of them where bad. And I guess it was better to experiment with all that stuff now then when we're on the job tonight. And ya know something, when I was doing all that stuff I wasn't even thinking about what I was doing. I just... sorta did it, I guess."

"And that's _exactly_ the kind of behavior that's gonna get us through tonight. The question is are you gonna buckle under the pressure, or are you gonna keep the cool you had like today?"

"I can't promise I'm gonna be perfect, bro. But I will say that I'm feeling the most confident I have all week about this. Again, not proud about it, but confident."

"If it makes ya feel any better, I'm the same way. Not proud of what I'm doing, but either way it's gonna happen so why bitch, ya know?"

"Yup. Although you gotta admit it was fun pissing off Scourge and Sam Speed without getting in trouble. Didja see the look on their faces? Priceless!"

The two of them laughed their way from the car to the elevator leading to the lobby. Little were they aware of the danger up above.

* * *

Mina was getting increasingly worried about getting free knowing that at any second she might receive a call from the lobby that Sonic was on his way up for a visit. Even if that didn't happen, there would be at least a message sent up that her car had been dropped, revealing that Sonic was in the area. Over the coarse of the past few minutes the ropes around Mina's hands had loosened up some, but she still wasn't quite free. All she needed was about another minute or so and she could get her hands free and pull the bindings around her torso off. Fate, however, had other plans for at that moment the land-line phone in another room rang. Mina didn't even have to guess who it was. She already knew. She also know that the call would be intercepted before she could get to it. Sure enough, she could here the call being answered and was joined shortly thereafter.

"Guess who that was? Turns out not only Sonic is coming up here, but so is his brother. I guess we'll be getting the answers I need very shortly. That means I just need you to behave just a little while longer. Think you can do that?"

"HUCK HOU!" Mina shouted through her gag.

"Thatta girl. Now, I'm going to move you to a better location and unlock the front so that I can make sure these guys can get in but can't get away. Don't struggle, otherwise I might let you go and you could fall and get hurt. So let's just do this nice and easy."

Mina wanted nothing more than to fight back, an urge made stronger by the fact that her hands were almost free. To try and break free now, though, would only result in the bindings being tightened again. Therefore, Mina could only go along with this plot at the moment.

* * *

A minute or so later Sonic and Manic stepped out of the elevator onto the floor leading up to Mina's penthouse, the only residence on the top story.

"_This_ is what being a music artists gets ya? Damn! Kinda makes ya wish we'd carried on our band from the war, eh bro?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

"I know, I know. It's too fancy for your tastes."

"Yup. Although the idea of rock and roll for life sounds good."

"So what about the drugs, sex, and alcohol parts of it?" Sonic joked.

"Don't make me slap you."

Chuckling, they'd reached the door to Mina's dwelling. Sonic pushed the button to an intercom outside the door.

"Yo Mina, it's Sonic and my bro. Can we come in?"

There was no answer, which seemed a bit odd to them both. They shrugged, not knowing what to think. Sonic tried again.

"Yo Mina! It's the fastest thing alive out here! Can we come in or what?"

Once again, no answer. Now thy both starting to get suspicious. Mina would not refuse to answer like this. It was completely unlike her.

"You think maybe she's in the shower and can't answer?"

"How should I know, dude? That stupid thing might be broken for all we know."

"Nah, no way. Not in a nice hotel like this. And she would have yelled out to us at least."

"Try it one more time."

"Alright... EARTH TO MINA MONGOOSE! ARE YOU THERE! EARTH TO MINA!... Nothing. Manic, see if you can pick the lock open."

"Got it."

Taking out a small lock pick kit from his fanny pack, Manic went to work on the lock. After almost five minutes Sonic stood taping his foot as Manic grimaced in frustration.

"I'm _waaaaaaiiiiiitiiiiiing_."

"This is ridiculous! A lock like this should taken five seconds, not five minutes! It's almost as if... hey..."

Manic twisted the door knob and revealed a surprise. The door wasn't locked. Now they were convinced something was up.

"You got any sort of weapon in the fanny pack?"

"Just a little multi-function pocket knife."

"Fat load of good that'll do us. Alright, I'm gonna take a peek inside. Watch my back, alright bro?"

"Yeah. Careful dude."

Slowly and carefully, Sonic twisted the door knob and pushed the door open. Right away their hunches were confirmed. They saw that the rooms had been torn apart as if somebody had been searching for something. More over, there was no sign of Mina anywhere.

"Shit... This does _not_ look good."

"Who do you think could have done this, dude?"

"Well, we know it ain't any of the three from last night. Same for Nic. My next guess would have been Scourge and/or Fiona, but we know where they are. That only leaves..."

"Robuttnik," they said in unison.

Suddenly, they heard small sound come from a room just beside them. In fact, it was more of a closet than a room. Sonic motioned for his brother to follow him quietly and they walked over the either side of the door, Sonic grabbing hold of the door knob. He'd barely finished twisting it when something from within pushed the door open. Mina, still tied to the chair, came tumbling out of the closet and fell back onto the floor.

"MINA!" the hedgehog's exclaimed.

Instinctively, they both knelt down to her to see if she was alright. As they did this, Mina was trying to yell through the gag and shook here head back and forth, her eyes filled with fright. Naturally, Sonic pulled the gag out of Mina's mouth to allow her to speak.

"Mina! Are you-"

"BEHIND YOU!"

Sonic and Manic had just enough time to look around and see a figure swing down from the arch coping coping. Sonic, the quicker of the two, had only enough time to turn his back to a pair of light-blue boots flying at him and his brother. Manic took the hit to his chest, pushing him over and knocking the wind out of him. Sonic took the hit to his upper back and was thrown to the floor, taking a majority of the impact with his face. Wincing from the pain, Sonic listened as a pair of feet rushed to the front door and locked it. Sonic looked up in time to see the pair of light blue boots stop in front of him. A sickening feeling began to tumble in his stomach as his blood ran cold and his nerves danced on end. He knew those boots, as well as the brown fur-covered legs that belonged to them.

"Heh... I shoulda figured that you would try something like this..."

Sonic looked straight up into the eyes of a part of his past that had once again come to pay a visit. At that moment Manic spotted all of this too and stopped gasping out of the shock. Mina, not being able to do anything else, only cried slightly at having not been able prevent this situation.

"...Sally..."

Sally grinned slightly, but it wasn't a grin of gladness. Instead, it was one of contempt and scorn that was meant to slice straight through to Sonic's soul and inflict him with as much agony as possible.

"I've been waiting for you, Sonic. We need to talk."

"About what?"

"You know _damn well what_."

"Do I?"

"Playing the stupid card again. Just as I expected. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. This is all going exactly as I planned it."

"Planned?"

"Yes. Everything is going perfectly so far."

"Ooooooooooookaaaaaaaaaaaay... You've locked us in a penthouse thirty stories up with no escape and nobody to come help us. What's your plan from here? What are you going to do?"

Before he knew it, Sonic found himself looking down the barrel of what appeared to be a Glock handgun or something similar. For a moment, Sonic looked at the gun. He then shifted to her eyes. Once again, her eyes lacked that luster that they always seemed to have. Those eyes, light blue in color though they may be, was no more inviting then a prept and waiting guillotine.

"What I must."


	18. Last Minute Problems

**Author's Notes****:**

At least this one didn't take two months! I still coulda had it out faster, but I've gone through about fifteen drafts to get this chapter just right. I'm pretty sure I got it the way I want it now and I think you'll enjoy.

I'm sure everybody is starting to wonder when were gonna get to the main events of the story. As it stands I'm fairly confident we're gonna have one more chapter and then finally we'll get to the moments everybody has been waiting for. Just let me say that waiting this long has its benefits as I've really developed the rest of this story quite well, far better than from what I had originally had planned.

Lastly, I've only got about three weeks left in my college semester before I graduate. Once I'm done I hope to speed up production on this story as well as start another one. I'll keep you informed of how that's going in future updates.

Not much else to say so I'll let ya get to reading. All feedback it appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter 18**** - Last Minute Problems**

Elsewhere in the city Vector was currently driving over to the S.S.P.D. H.Q. with his car packed to the brim with all the evidence he'd had at his place. Even with the sedan's massive trunk they still had to pile a number of items into the backseat. In fact, the backseat was so filled that Charmy, who was still snoozing in the back right corner, had to get in first and then have all of the stuff piled in around him. Glancing in the rear view mirror Vector couldn't help but chuckle as the bee's antennae bobbed with the bumps in the surface of Route 280.

"He still sleeping?"

"Yes Mighty, he is," Vector answered, glancing over to the passenger seat. "You'd think for such a youngin' he'd have a bit more gusto, ya know?"

"Considering how high-strung he is he probably uses energy quicker than this car uses up gas," he joked.

"Teh heh... Yeah, well, a little rest never did anybody any harm. Hell, look what it did for Sonic. After everything he went through last night and today, POOF! He's right back on his feet. Amazing, huh?"

"I hear that. But what amazes me even more is how well he took it. I mean, knowing Sonic, I think he took it all pretty mellow."

"Ya know, I was thinking the same thing. I couldn't fall asleep last night because I couldn't stop thinking about it. I kept thinking that something was wrong with him. But then my wife woke up and asked me what was up and she suggested that it's probably just because he's matured and can handle things a bit better."

"And then there's the fact that he wasn't the one that ki... well, you know..."

"I think that's probably why he wasn't as hurt as we thought he'd be."

"Still, I can't help but think that _maybe_ Espio could have spared him so he could go to jail."

"Nack and his buds deserved to go to jail. I agree with that. But considering that whacko's state last night, and considering what he did to his two teammates, then tack on everything he's done over the years including the failed attempt on Mina Mongoose, and I can say that Espio's actions were justified."

"Yeah... Can't help but feel for Espio, though. I mean, being a pacifist and all, I don't like seeing violence and things like that, but... I know Espio has morals, values, and standards ten times stricter than mine. Makes me wonder just how he's doing right now."

"If you wanna know, I called him before we left."

"By all means."

"Well, not that great. I just about gave up when he picked up on about the twelfth ring. I did about ninety-nine percent of the talking and the little he did speak was kinda mumbled and low."

"Did he at least give you any indication to how or what he was doing?"

"That was probably the most he said. He's sworn himself to meditation all day in complete darkness and isolation. No food and only a small amount of water whenever he has to answer nature's call. Other than that, I didn't get anything else out of him."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"I wish I were."

Mighty sat back in his seat and sighed, obviously upset at hearing how his teammate was doing. Not wanting the mood to fall too low, Vector turned on some gentle jazz music and patted the armadillo on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about Espio, Mighty. I'm sure he'll be fine. After all, it's not the first time he's done this. Maybe not to this extent, but you get my drift."

"I know. I'm just glad that we finally found a lead on this case so we can wrap it up."

"Amen to that. And this also marks the end of Nack's reign of terror. God only knows how many people he woulda harmed from this point on. And... may peace come to all of those who were subject to his ways before today."

"Mina included."

Vector perked up at hearing this. In all the busy events of that day he'd nearly forgotten that Sonic was going to tell her about the attempt on her life.

"Yeah... I just hope that Sonic breaks it to her easily."

"Don't worry, Vector. I'm sure he'll handle it professionally. Sonic's a good guy. He wouldn't do anything to misplace our trust or anything to hurt others."

"Yeah, you're right. In fact, I'm sure that they're probably already passed that issue and are all tied up in something else fun right now."

"I'm sure of it. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, do you think we'll be able to handle everything at the S.S.P.D with just the three of us?"

"Actually, there's four of us."

"Really? Who'd you pull in to help us?"

"You'll see."

At that instant Route 280 entered a stretch that gave a clear view the complex that Mina's penthouse was on. Little did they know of what was occurring on the top of that building as they spoke.

* * *

Sally stood with a satisfied grin on her face and her gun in her hands, marveling at the accomplishment of her plans. Sonic and Manic now had their wrists bound together with plastic package ties, their torsos were tied together with a roll of silver duct tape, and their feet tied to the decorative arms of the living room sofa with their shoelaces. Off to the side Mina still sat tied to her chair with the gag pulled back over her mouth. She was still working to get her hands free, but it seemed as though she'd reached a point where the ropes were just tight enough to stay on but she couldn't get them any weaker.

"Now I've got you _right_ where I want you."

"That sounds a bit kinky, don't ya think Sal?" Sonic joked.

"Don't start with your stupid humor, hedgehog. Considering your position you'd better start cooperating with me."

"You do realize that you've still yet to say what it is you want from me."

"If you think I haven't been monitoring what you've been up to over the past few days, you're wrong. I've been using NICOLE to keep track of you electronically, but that didn't work out so well since your brother seems to know how to cover up his tracks."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Manic stated.

"Shut your mouth!... I also tried to keeping a track of you visually, including today."

"What? Where were you watching us from?"

"From my room at the Emerald Coast Hotel. I watched you eat lunch and follow Vector out in Mina's car. That's how I knew to follow you here."

"Well aren't you the sneaky one. I hope your actions weren't all for nothing," Sonic taunted.

"Far from it. From what I've seen so far I can conclude that Rouge, Shadow, and Bunnie have joined your little clan, which from what I can piece together consists of the remainder of those who knew about this whole thing a few night ago. I'm still not sure how many of you were actually going to commit the heists tonight, but it doesn't matter anymore."

"So what are you saying? You gonna turn us in?"

"What do _you_ think, Sonic? Of course. I'm not going to just stand by and let this happen and not do anything about it. Even though Station Square isn't my home town, as the Princess of Mobotropolis I'm exercising my duty to keep peace and harmony in this world. If that means I have to turn my backs on old comrades, then so be it. But I am _not_ going to let this happen."

"So let me see if I got this right. You want me to tell you who was involved and what we were going to do so you can call up Vector and tell him everything so that me and my team get arrested?"

"Not quite, Sonic. All that I need to have you taken in is an admission of guilt from you, meaning you and Manic. Since you're the masterminds of this mess, without you your team won't be able to function, your plans will fall to pieces, the rest of your team won't get into any more trouble, and no wrongful acts will be committed. Simple, isn't it?"

"If you think you'll get me to say those words your a nut! Heh... HEH HEH! A nut! Get it! You're a squirrel, squirrels eat nuts! Don't ya get it!" Manic said gleefully.

With a glare on her face, Sally walked over to Manic and delivered a firm upper-cut to his chin. The hit was so hard the Manic's head bonked up against the back of Sonic's skull.

"Manic... would you _please_ shut up?" Sonic said angrily.

"No... problem... Jaw hurts... bad..." Manic said through clenched teeth.

"Take that as a warning. Next time I won't be so easy."

"So this is it, huh Sal? You call up Vector, I confess, and you get all the credit?"

"Hold on, Sonic. I'm not done with you yet. I still have one other thing to ask you about."

"And what would that be?"

"Talk to me about last night."

"Psht! In your dreams."

"Oh no, Sonic... in _reality_."

Sonic sighed and rolled his eyes, much to Sally's discontent. In a surprise move, she actually jumped up onto the couch and straddled Sonic's lap between her legs, tucking her gun away in her jacket and resting her hands on Sonic's legs.

"Tell me, Sonic... are you enjoying it?"

"Well, I wish we were on better terms because then I'd say what you're doing to me right now is awesome."

Sally's right hand put the gun under Sonic's chin, her face displaying an apathetic grin and half-lidded eyes. Behind them, Mina began to struggle with her bindings a bit harder now that Sally had her back to her. The rage that she felt as Sally mistreated Sonic seemed to give her the boost she needed to finally work the ropes free

"I meant what happened last night. last night. Are you enjoying it?"

"If you mean being in a t-bone, roll over crash... it was actually kinda cool. It was like some crazy amusement park ride."

"Some brother you are," Manic spat.

"Quiet Manic..." Sally said coolly. "I wouldn't want to have to do something on account of you being stupid."

"Oh, he excels at that," Sonic said enthusiastically, earning him a jab from Manic's elbow.

"Knock it off, you to. You're like two little boys in kindergarten. Now, back to you Sonic... I want to know how much you enjoyed what you did to Nack last night."

"I fought him off, like I've done a number of... Wait a second, are you saying that you think I-"

"After seeing the news this morning, I _know_ you did. You probably figured since you're already committing grand theft auto, why not throw murder on top of that?"

Manic, of course, only grew annoyed at the false accusations that Sally was placing upon his brother. Mina, however, listened up for she still didn't know who'd done what last night as news reports throughout the day had been sketchy.

"I didn't kill anybody last night."

"Oh come off it, Sonic. I know how much you hated Nack. You used to call him Fang all the time just to get on his nerves. It musta felt really good to finally kill the bastard, didn't it? And I almost forgot about Bark and Bean. I heard they died in the crash last night. Tell me, did you purposely cause your brother to crash in the hopes of killing them all in one shot?"

"You know, I think my brother was right... You really have lost your mind Sal. I mean, listen to yourself. You're accusing me of committing murders and not feeling sorry about it. As much as you hate me because of our past and what I'm involved with right now, ask yourself... would I _really_ do those things? Ask yourself that."

Sally moved her face to within an inch of Sonic's, their noses actually touching, their eyes transfixed on one another's. Behind them Mina stood still, hoping, praying that nothing bad would come of this. Currently, the ropes around her wrists only needed to be pulled about a half centimeter more and she'd be free.

"Alright Sonic. If you didn't do it, then who did? And why?"

"It was Espio. Fang had tried to get me, my bro, and Ray at Manic's place but screwed up. After following us and crashing, the creep took enough drugs for a dozen coke-addicts, killed his buds, then started shooting at me, the Chaotix, and the police. I drew him out into the open to distract him but he got me down and tried to kill me. Manic helped me out and knocked him away. The last thing I remember was Espio firing an arrow into Fang's throat before I passed out from exhaustion as well as the second ass-whooping I've gotten this week... And that's all I know."

Sally sat back on Sonic's legs, studying him, looking to see if she could detect any sort of lie in him. At the same time Sonic was looking back at Sally, trying to study her.

"You're holding back on me, Sonic. There's something still burning inside your head just begging to be let out. What is it?"

Despite the tense situation, Sonic knew that he had to let out the news he'd learned back at the Chaotix H.Q. Taking a deep breath and trying to keep cool, Sonic summoned all of his courage to deliver the news.

"The truth is that I learned something about Fang a few nights ago that scared the hell out of me. Today I heard that same news with proof behind it from Vector. Turns out that a few years ago, when Mina won that singing competition, she'd been in mondo-danger and didn't even know it. Somebody had paid off Fang to do what he did best to Mina. Don't ask me who or why because I don't know and neither does Vector. All I know is that the job failed because Fang's sister sabotaged the job to give her a one up over him. Ever since then that bastard has been killing anybody in his way and doing whatever he had to to get his rep back. I'm pretty sure that's why we were targeted because if he could take down somebody like me, then what would he have had left to prove? It was nothing but a plot for revenge... There, I said it."

There was an incredibly long silence after that. Mina sat completely still, her eyes frozen in place, undoubtedly full of shock. Sally also had a new look on her face. Her eyes had changed. They were no longer trying to instill death, but they weren't normal either. It was strange, but for just a split second he almost thought it looked like the kind of look that one has when they haven't seen somebody close to them. The kind of look that one has when they're longing for something that they've wanted for a long time and haven't been able to have. The kind of look that only loved one have towards their troubled spouse. Just as quickly as the look had come, it passed and Sally went to a glare of anger, indicating to Sonic that he was probably only imagining it. Making sure to put a fair amount of pressure on a certain sensitive part of Sonic's lap, Sally, hopped to her feet and walked over to the nearest phone, tucking her gun away inside her jacket.

"You really are a bastard, Sonic. I can't believe you'd make up a story like that just to try and win a few sympathy points."

"What the hell are you talking about! That was no lie! Vector found proof of it!"

"Yeah, sure! If that's the truth, then I'll help you with your job tonight! But guess what! It's a damn lie just like all the others you've been telling this week! Well let me tell you something, hedgehog! The lying stops right here, right now!"

Sally snatched up the phone and began dialing a number, most likely Vector's. Sonic and Manic were so concerned about Sally that neither noticed the ropes fall from Mina's arms and the rest of her bindings go loose.

"Sally, please don't do this! It'll only cause more trouble than you can imagine!"

"Like you have any room to talk! You've already caused problems with your failed attempt! Do you really think that I'm gonna let more people get hurt?"

"But nobody's been hurt! We're not out for revenge or to prove a point! This is just business!" Manic explained.

Sally froze in place after hearing that. She half looked like she could vomit and half looked like she could kill Sonic at that moment.

"Just business, huh?...You're a piece of scum. You think that stealing people's property is just a business transaction? I honestly can't believe you could even think that. No, actually I take that back. Coming from you Manic, I can believe it. But what about you Sonic? Has you're brother corrupted your mind as well?"

"All I can say is that this is a double-ended sword, Sal. If we do it, bad things will happen. If we don't do it, bad things will happen. I know this is going to sound insane, but... the better route this time is to do the wrong thing because it's better than doing the right thing. If you just put the phone down, I'll explain."

"There's no explanation needed, Sonic. After hearing you say that I've made up my mind. Your ass is going down."

Sally had finished dialing the number and had her thumb poised over the send call button. Their plan was just the push of a button away from being spoiled.

"Any last things you wanna say before Vector comes to haul you and your brother off to jail?"

"Just one thing. You better call a chiropractor first."

"What the _hell_ does that have to do with this?"

"I'll let Mina tell you."

With a mighty swing, Mina, swung the chair that once held her captive at her off-guard target. The chair struck Sally in the back and broke the back of the chair off of the seat and legs. As spectacular as the hit was, it didn't do much damage because the chair had already been weakened when Mina fell back on it from out of the closet. It was, however, enough to knock Sally forward and drop the phone on Sonic's lap. Not wasting a second he leaned his legs up just enough so the phone slid back down and Manic just barely caught it, hitting the power button and canceling the call.

As the hedgehogs had done this, Mina wasted no time delivering a swift kick to Sally's back to finish off the chair's job. Stunned from the pain, Sally threw a horrible punch that Mina caught in her hands. Still holding onto the fist, Mina actually flipped Sally over her back and onto the floor. Landing on her feet and trying to break free, Sally tried to do a back-spin kick, but she was off balance and ended up just stumbling off to the side, almost falling over. She had just enough time to look up and see a drop kick coming from Mina before the impact sent her stumbling the rest of the way across the room and slammed into the front door, falling to the floor.

"Take that, you back-stabbing bitch!" Mina spat.

With an angry grunt, Sally got back onto her feet, drawing her gun from the inside of her jacket. She pointed it at Mina, who stood deathly still in the middle of the room.

"Who you calling bitch... _bitch_..."

"Sally no!" Sonic shouted.

Mina covered her face with her hands and stumbled back, falling out of view behind the couch as the door behind Sally suddenly broke off its hinges and slammed into her, knocking her to the floor and the gun out of her hands as well as out of her reach. This sudden action made both hedgehog's look to the door and spot the last person they'd expected to see standing there. A pink hedgehog with a large yellow hammer in her hands.

"Amy?" Manic asked in puzzlement.

"Ahem!" said another voice, stepping into view.

"Sonia!" Sonic gasped, amazed to see his sister. "How did you know we were here?"

"I've, like, been following Sally ever since the night at Rouge's club. I figured she'd try to do something like this so I wanted to be ready when she made her move."

"Then why is Amy here?"

"Just by chance. I ran into her on the way over here and thought it would be nice to have a little extra power in case things got ugly. Looks like I was, like, so right."

Underneath the broken door Sally began to stir and moan as the stun from being slammed into the floor began to wear off. Sonia, wanting to get in her own punishment on Sally, stomped up onto the door and used her weight to keep Sally pinned to the floor.

"Where do you think you're going? Think You're gonna get that gun? Hmm?"

"Piss... off..." Sally said quietly.

"Whatever. Amy, go help your boyfriends get free."

Amy rushed over to the two hedgehogs and helped undo their bindings. Once free,the first thing he did was rush to Mina's side. The mongoose sat with her eyes shut tight like she was in pain, her hands still covering her face.

"Mina! Are you hurt!"

"I-I'm fine! It's my eyes! They really hurt!"

"Try to open them!"

Sonic half-expected to see some sort of graze wound to Mina's eyes. Though her eyes were bloodshot and watery, there wasn't any apparent wound. It was strange to say the least, but Sonic was just glad that Mina was alright. The two of them locked into a tight embrace.

"Sonic, I'm sorry! I tried to warn you!"

"Don't worry about. You're alright and that's all that matters."

Thankfully, whatever was in Mina's eyes wasn't anything too dangerous and she was okay. Hoping to take advantage of the sweet moment, Manic smiled at Amy in the hopes of receiving some affection, but instead was met by a slap on the face from his girl, a move that came a shock to him.

"What was _that_ for!"

"Honestly, Manic. Can a day go by that you _don't_ get into trouble?"

"You know me, Rosy. Of course not."

"Yeah, sadly I _do_ know you," she answered sarcastically.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. Gimme a kiss."

"I could, like, so make a soap opera out of this and strike it rich," Sonia joked.

Glancing down, Sonia noticed Sally had come to more and was slowly reaching for her pistol. With a quick flick of her leg Sonia slammed her foot down on Sally's wrist, stopping her arm while keeping her down with her other leg.

"Don't even think about it! Sonic, get that damn gun away from this psycho, woulda ya please?"

Sonic snatched up the gun and right away knew something was up. The weapon was uncharacteristically light and cheap feeling, so much so that he felt as though he could break it with his own hand. That's when Sonic noticed something else. Inside the barrel he noticed a small spout and on the bottom a little white plug. All of a sudden it was completely clear.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me... Guys, this ain't no gun. It's a freaking water pistol! And it's filled with," he started, squirting some of the toy's contents onto his glove,"... lemon juice?"

Mina snatched the toy gun away and shot some of hte liquid onto her tongue. With a glare on her face she threw the water pistol to the floor and stomped it with her foot, breaking it in half.

"It's filled with lemonade! _My_ lemonade! And she shot me in my eyes with it!"

"Geez. Sal, pardon me for saying this, but you really _suck_ at this hostage thing."

"Go fuck yourself, Sonic..." Sally whispered in exhaustion and annoyance.

"Don't talk to my brother like that, you little pain in the ass! Say something like that again and I'll break this door over your back!"

"Mina already beat ya to that one, sis. She broke a chair over her back."

"Damn. Ah well. But while I got your attention, I wanted to tell you that we gotta... discuss some things."

"Please tell me they're good."

"Like to, but no can do. Let's just say that-"

"Sonia, wait! Do we really want her hearing this?" Amy interrupted.

"She's right. Sonia, see what you can do with Sally. I'll help Mina wash the lemon juice out of her eyes. Manic... try not to make it to home base before we're done, a'ight?"

"No promises.

"Gag me with a spoon... Alright Sally, get up. We gotta take care of you so you don't try to do anything else stupid."

"Hold on a sec..."

Mina walked over to Sally who'd just been lifted to her feet. Sally glanced up to see Mina's puffy red eyes glaring down at her, which was followed followed by a hard slap to the face.

"I called _you_ a bitch... **BITCH!**"

"Now _that's_ what I call a bitch slap," Sonic joked.

* * *

As luck would have it, Mina had a small sound-proof studio room in her penthouse that eh'd use if a sudden idea came to her and she wanted to record it. Knowing that Sally wouldn't be able to hear them in there, Sonia had given Sally a taste of her own medicine and tied her up to another chair in there. Trying to escape would thus be impossible since there was only one way in or out. Pulling some privacy blinds down over the window looking into the mini studio, the five of them sat down in the living room to finally get to their main points.

"Now that Sally's pathetic rampage is over, what's up? From the sounds of things we may have a problem or two."

"More like a list of them, Sonic. Since both of you haven't been reachable all day the problems have been coming to me. And since Mina is the only one who knew anything about you guys, I've been in contact mainly with her." Sonia informed him.

"And we're lucky that Sally doesn't know more than she does now. Right as she showed up I was ending my call with you, Sonia. She said she'd heard me talking about tonight, but I don't think she heard anything specific.

"Getting back on topic here... Are they anything that's gonna really make life suck?" Manic asked.

"If we put all of our heads together, I don't think so. Still, some of these will, like, be harder than others. Here, I made a quick little list."

* * *

**1. Mina's talk show was canceled. Less cover now.**

**2. Rouge has a group of VIP's coming to the club unexpectedly. Needs two to cover.**

**3. Got a delivery of all-natural beauty supplies coming to my store tonight. Need somebody to take and over see it's delivery/set up.**

**4. Silver has a possible record deal coming up from a music label. Needs somebody to cover/represent him.**

**5. A way to be inconspicuous considering the equipment we need tonight.**

**6. A name for the operation.**

* * *

"No problemo. If we put our noodles together, this'll be a piece of cake to solve."

"The problem is Sonic that we're running low on people to do these things. The only we have is I got a message a little later from Rouge saying she'd contacted an old friend to run her bar, so she only needs one person now to be a bouncer. Still though, I don't really know who we're gonna turn to," Sonia commented.

"Me."

Everybody turned and looked to Amy. Manic moved over to her side and put an arm around her, leaning in closer.

"I thought that you didn't want to get involved, Ames."

"Well... I guess I wasn't quite clear with myself or you. I don't wanna do what you're gonna do tonight, but... I still feel as though I need to help in some way. Sonic has done so much for me and all of us that he deserves my help. And I came to realize that I could never live with myself if I just sat by and let Antoine go without doing anything to save him. So... if I have to be a bouncer at a nightclub for a few hours, then that's what I'm gonna do... Any objections?"

"How can I argue with logic like that?" Manic said charmingly.

"Okay, so Rouge is taken care of. Now, I may know a thing or two about music, as would my bro and sis. But, were gonna be a bit busy tonight, so I think we'll have to-"

"_That_ didn't sound right," Manic joked.

"EEEEEEWWW!"

"I'm with sis on this one. Bro, shut up."

"Sorry. Couldn't resist."

"_Anyway_... The only other one of us that knows anything about music is you, Mina. You think you could be any help with Silver's deal?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Remember, I'm a singer and songwriter, not a keyboardist. I know next to nothing about techno music and what makes it good."

"Do you think there's _any_ way you could help, though?"

"Well, like you said, I'm the only other one with a foot inside the music industry. I could do some research and listen to what Silver's got. ANd technically I did help silver once or twice with some of his tracks that had vocals. Other than that I don't know what else I could do aside from B. my way through it all."

"Its better than nothing, Mina. And I'm sure Silver will appreciate the help."

"Then sign me up."

"Okay. That only leaves you sis. Any ideas for a stand-in assistant for your products tonight?"

"Actually, I do. Only problem is I'm not so sure if another certain person will be happy about it."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us."

"...Cosmo..."

Sure enough, there was an uneasy silence about the room after Sonia revealed her idea. Everybody knew how protective and loving Tails was to his true love these days and to suggest that she became remotely involved with the upcoming actions would surely not go over well. In fact, they were all willing to bet that they might get cursed out over the phone if they brought it up. But after a few more minutes of discussion it was agreed that an attempt had to be made. Manic dialed up Tails' number and put his phone on speaker. As the ring tone hummed out of the advice, everybody took a breath, fearing that this was not going to be a friendly call.

_"Yo Manic! Where have you been all day? Me and Cosmo saw the news story earlier this morning and have been trying to reach you all day."_

"I know and I'm sorry, dude. Me and Sonic were taking care of some things. We still are, in fact."

_"What do you mean **taking care of a few things?**"_

"Well, we've had a few problems come up. We think we have most of them solved, but there's still one that we need to talk about and... it kinda involves you."

With a loud, drawn out sigh, Tails spoke the words they'd been fearing. _"You want Cosmo to help out... don't you?"_

"Yes, but-"

_"No. Hell no."_

"Can I at least tell you what we'd need her for?"

_"Save your breath. I've gone threw too much just to let Cosmo get involved with this plan and have something happens to her."_

"But dude, all we want her to do is-"

_"Shut up! I'm not going to let her doing anything that's going to get her hurt! If if you've got a problem with that, then-"_

Tails suddenly went silent on the other end of the line. They could all hear faint footsteps threw the speaker, followed by the phone being exchanged hands.

_"Is Sonia there?" _Cosmo asked.

"Yeah, I'm here girl."

_"I know what this is about. You're shipment of all-natural beauty supplies is coming in today, isn't it?"_

"Yup."

_"And you want me to help oversee the delivery while you're out tonight?"_

"You got it."

_"I thought so. Considering that I helped you in the design of that line of products I feel like I'm a crucial part of it, so if you want my help with that, I don't see any problem with-"_

_"But I do!" Tails snapped off to the side._

_"Quiet!... Sonia, consider me in. When do you need me there?"_

_"Cosmo, I'm not going to let you-"_

_"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Tails. I'm going to help Sonia, whether you like it or-"_

_"Dammit, I'm not going to stand for this! You know what I went threw all those years! I'm not going to let you do this! It's too risky!"_

_"Oh? Then let me ask you this. What are **you** going to do to stop me?..."_

Once again, Tails fell silent, surely having received a nasty glare from could hear Tails walking away, slamming the wall with what sounded like his twin tails.

"Cosmo, would you like a little time to think this over?" Sonia asked.

_"No, I've made up my mind. I'll be there. But I would like some time to talk with Tails. You call me when you're ready, okay?"_

"You got it, girl."

_"Okay. Talk to you soon, Sonia."_

"You too. Bye."

There was an uncomfortable silence following the call. They all realized that by pushing Tails as hard as they did it was quite possible he could ditch.

"You think Cosmo is talking to Tails right now?" Amy asked.

"I'd say it's almost a guarantee," Manic answered.

"I'd also guarantee that Tails is probably cursing us all out right now. When we were flying to the city in Tails' jet a few days ago he talked to me about what he went through all those years that Cosmo... Anyway, I know Tails all too well. It was hell for him. I don't blame him for acting like he did. Not at all."

"So do you think he'll, like, ditch on us then?"

Just then Manic's phone beeped, indicating that a text message came in.

"Guess we'll find out," Manic answered, picking up his phone. After pushing a few buttons his eyes fell upon the rather short message. Manic cocked an eyebrow.

"What's it say, bro?"

"It says we'll be there, with the _we'll_ in all caps."

"Hmm... Sounds to me like they're both gonna show up," Amy suggested.

"Or it's a ruse from Tails to get our hopes up," Manic countered.

"Either way, we have to go on as planned. Like I said, I know Tails. Cosmo probably calmed him own just enough to say that they'll both help and now she's trying to console him. And knowing Tails he's not gonna ditch. He's too good a guy to do that."

"But apparently not good enough to keep himself from growing a mullet. Yuck!" Sonia joked.

The well-timed joke got a small laugh from the group, breaking the tension and getting everybody back on track.

"Now that we're all in a good mood for a second, last tackle this last problem of figuring out how to haul our gear without looking mondo-suspicious tonight."

"What about the name thing, dude?"

"Do you _honestly_ think I give a fuck what this night is called? Who's bright idea was it to name the night anyway?"

"Tails'," Sonia answered.

"Oh... um... Okay, why don't we have a look at that real quick. Uhh... Tell ya what, I'll let that one roll around in my head for a bit. In the meantime, anybody got a suggestion for gear haulin'?"

"When he comes to carryin' the stuff you need for a job, it's best to keep it concealed but also in a way that looks natural."

"Care to tell us something a bit more detailed there, spike hair?" Sonia taunted.

"Like _you_ have any room to talk. What I mean is that for a job like this, you wanna be able to carry as much stuff with you as you can with looking too outta place."

"So in other words bro, no back packs, duffel bags, or suit cases? Things like that?"

"You got it, bro."

"Then what are we gonna do? Do you know of any Thief-Fashion boutiques around here or something?"

"Don't need one. In my experience, the best thing to do is wear the stuff you usually do. That way people that know you won't suspect anything and those don't know you won't give a damn."

"You mean like my jacket?" Sonia asked.

"_Exactly_, dude."

"Hey wait a second... when did you get a black leather jacket?" Sonia asked.

"What? Oh... I didn't even notice you had that on," Amy mentioned.

"You guys means to tell me that despite the fact that I've gone my whole like nekked except for my fur and you're just _now_ noticing I have a jacket on?"

"Even I didn't really notice and I've been with you the longest," Mina admitted in embarrassment.

"Geez! Maybe you guys oughta go visit a Lens Crafters or something. Not like it's hard to miss."

"Whatever, dude. The point is that what Sonic has is perfect. That jacket has lots of pockets, is comfortable to wear for long periods of time, doesn't attract attention, and it doesn't hinder mobility."

"Sweetness. Glad I came across this little beauty."

"Excellent! I'm gonna pick up the most expensive, classy, top-of-the-line, snazzy-"

"Sonia, I do believe I said that you don't want something that... well, that does everything your choices you're talking about will do. Just keep it simple."

"But I wanna look good!... Aw, alright. Fine. I guess I'll just go in my normal dress. But I'm still gonna pick my best versions of this setup!"

"Fine, whatever makes ya shut up."

"Why you little... Wait a second. Where'd you get that jacket in the first place, Sonic?"

All of a sudden Sonic didn't look so relaxed. There was a definite tensing of his body and his eyes became suggestive of mental stress. But there was no point in hiding the truth.

"I got this from the owner of a Saleen Mustang. That owner just happens to have the same Saleen Mustang we need off the list. In fact, he's got the only one in the city."

"Would we happen to know who this person is?" Mina asked.

With a deep breath and long exhale, Sonic asked "Does Team Chaotix give you a guess?"

The answer hit all of them instantly. They'd all heard about Vector's string of success over the years, particularly the case that got him that car. Now they realized that they would be stealing from one of the most loyal, helpful, and closest friends they had.

"By the looks on your faces I know you've figured it out. And I know, it's a cowardly thing to act like best friends with him the whole time when we're really just gonna stab him in the back. Believe me, I ain't proud of it. In fact I've been bouncing back and forth between a mondo-guilt trip and a shame-wave with how things have turned out so far. And I know that it's only gonna be worse after tonight, regardless of what happens. All that I, and all of us for that matter, can hope for is that tonight goes off smoothly, that nobody, both ourselves and other people, get hurt, and that once everything is said and done we've saved everybody we came to save and that Robuttnik goes down. Once all of that is done we can put all of this behind us and get on with our lives... At least that's what I hope for."

The rest of the group voiced their approval. Everything the blue hedgehog had stated was pretty much how everybody else felt. Mina even leaned over and planted a light kiss on Sonic's cheek.

"That was nice," she stated.

"Eh, I'm no speaker. Just said what was on my mind. So, is there anything else we gotta discuss?"

"The name," Manic reminded him.

"Something _important_."

"The only other thing I can think of dude is how we're gonna hit the place that has all the Ferraris and Lambos. At best I could set up a fake order for the cars to be transferred to another location so that we'd have a reason to get into the place, but it's just not gonna work if a group of fourteen random Mobians show up saying they're gonna drive the damn things to the new location."

"So in other words you're saying we need some way to get in and out with as little trouble as possible?"

"Well no, but that's what _she_ said," Manic joked.

"**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!**"

"Oh would you can it, sis? Not like you've never heard that one before."

"Manic, don't make me slap you on behalf of your sister," Amy threatened.

"Alright, alright. Yes Sonic, that's exactly what I mean. We need something that's gonna make us look like auto movers, not car thieves. Does anybody even have the slightest of ideas?"

Those in attendance looked on with blank expressions, not knowing where to even remotely begin. That was, except, for Sonic, who had suddenly been reminded of an unpleasant offer that had been made to him. Though he didn't say anything, Manic knew something was on his brother's mind.

"I know that look. What's up?"

"There might be a way for us to get some help with this," Sonic half mumbled. "Yesterday when Robotnik called me to his place alone and I mentioned my first run in with Fang he was interested in me helping get rid of him. He said that if Fang were taken off his _shoulders_ he'd help us out someway. I don't know if that means he'd help us with tonight's ordeal since he said he'd have no part in helping us, but he said that before I told him about Fang."

"Woah woah woah, like, wait a minute! Are you saying that we're gonna ask for help from _Robotnik?_" Sonia asked.

"I'm not saying we're _gonna_, I'm just saying that it's a possibility. A _slight_ one."

"I think I'd rather take a bite out of a shit sandwich than ask for help from him! And coming from me, _that's_ saying something!"

"But would you rather take a bite of a shit sandwich, or eat a whole one? Because that's what's gonna happen if we don't think of a way to get these cars out of that place and complete the order."

Reluctantly, everybody agreed first within themselves and then to him that he was right. Asking for help from Robotnik was the last thing they all wanted to do, but at this rate, they didn't have a choice. Manic took out his cell phone to call Antoine, but he was met with an unpleasant surprise.

"Figures... it just... figures..."

"What's up bro?"

Manic tossed his cell over to his brother. The message read "Out of contact until 6. See you shortly after." Though vague, Sonic knew all too well that whatever Antoine was doing required his full attention and also for him to be out of contact from the rest of the world. The mere thought of what Robotnik could have him doing made him sick to his stomach. Sonic knew all too well that Antoine was already miserable and he was certain whatever mission he was on now was surely making him even more so. Sonic tossed his phone back to his brother, another wave of sadness washing over him.

"So what do we do now?" Sonia asked.

"I guess we proceed as planned. Hopefully when we see Antoine at six he can contact Robuttnik and see what can be done. Until then, we'll just have to prepare ourselves for everything else as much as possible."

"Sounds like a plan, dude. And given the new members we have joining us, we need to get started on that right away."

"Your right. Amy, Mina, thanks for helping us. You know we appreciate it. And Mina, I'm sorry you had to go through what you did today."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. Besides, Sally's not gonna do anything else now that we got her under control."

"Speaking of which, I'd like to go check on her real quick before we leave. After all, I don't think we can keep her like we are. And no, I'm not saying we should let her go free, but we with how she is, we gotta keep her from doing anything stupid. I'll be right back."

The group discussed one or two little things as Sonic stepped from the room. Headed for the small recording room a new feeling started to roll about deep in Sonic's gut. It wasn't sadness, guilt, or shame. It wasn't quite fear, but more like apprehension. Like something just wasn't quite right. Unlocking and opening the door, Sonic's feelings turned out to be valid.

"GUYS, GET IN HERE!"

The rest of the group charged up behind Sonic and looked into the room. Sally was gone. Somehow she'd broken free from her bindings. Worse off, she'd used everything in the room to her advantage. Using the chair she must have somehow kept her balance while using a metal guitar pick to unscrew a vent grill in the ceiling. Then, she'd wedged part of a microphone stand into the ventilation duct and used it as a chin up bar to pull herself up and into the duct.

"Like, how the hell did she manage to do all of this and have us not hear it!" Sonia exclaimed.

"This room is soundproof! She could have screamed at the top of her lungs what she was doing and we wouldn't have heard her," Mina answered. "I'm amazed that mic stand held her weight as she climbed out, considering it's not that strong. But where could she have gone from here?"

"That's my forte," Manic answered. "She's probably headed for an elevator, since that's the easiest way to get around in a high-rise."

"So in other words Sally's crawling through this building's ducting to escape!" Amy asked.

"You got that right. And its my guess that she'd got a good lead on us now. We'd better move if we want to catch her."

_"And keep her from getting hurt,"_ Sonic thought..

"But where are we even gonna start? Who knows what way she's gonna take to get out of here. She could even be stuck somewhere for all we know," Amy pointed out.

"No, I doubt it. Sally's a smart girl. She'd gonna head to where ever she can get out of hear fastest. She needs to make a quick get away so she can get to Vector and tel him about our plans."

"Oh my God... that's it... **that's _it_**..." Mina said.

"What?" Sonic asked.

Mina suddenly ran from the room and disappeared into another room. They could all hear her rummage around for a second, then swore quietly and ran back.

"Sonic, we need to get to the garage!"

"What? Wh-"

"The spare key to my car is gone! Sally must have taken it when she was snooping around so she could get away quick if she had to!"

"Are you sure it isn't just misplaced?"

"I keep that key in a _very_ special spot. The only way you could find it is to be purposely be searching places you don't normally look in."

"Then we'd better get mov-" Manic started.

"I got a better idea. Bro, _please_ tell me you have one of the chaos emeralds."

"Uhh... no. Haven't been home yet, remember?"

"Figures!"

" But I've got one! Here Sonic," Sonia said, tossing over the purple chaos emerald.

"Yes! Thank _you_ Sonia! Alright, I'm going! Cover your eyes!"

Mina opened her mouth to protest, wanted to plead to go with him. Before she could, Sonic already had his hand up in the air and shouted out the incantation to utilize the stone's teleportation powers.

"**CHAOS CON_TROL!_**"

Mina lurched forward at the last second, her hands headed for Sonic's arm. In a brilliant purple flash, Sonic disappeared, although nobody had seen Mina jump for him the light was so bright.

* * *

Sonic landed on the pavement and already felt the extra weight on him arm.

"Mina! What are you doing!"

"I'm not gonna let Sally get away with this! I'm gonna stop her whether it's the last thing I ever do!"

With a glare on her face Mina got to her feet and began to sprint in the direction that her car was usually parked to see if it was gone. Sonic's ears suddenly rang as a loud engine note echoed throughout the garage. Looking over, the two of them spotted Mina's Corvette pull out of its spot and turn and make a bee line for the exit.

"Oh no you don't!" Mina shouted.

In a bold move, Mina used her own gift of speed and dashed for the car, jumping through the car's shattered right window.

"Mina, no!" Sonic shouted.

A brief struggle ensued between Mina and Sally, making the car swerve back and forth for a moment. The red glare of the tail lights illuminated the garage as the tires began to squeal under braking power. Sonic's heart came to a painful stop when a sound like a gunshot echoed throughout the garage and he saw the car jerk to a sudden, violent, stalling halt against a wall as pieces of the car went flying.

"Oh my God..."

Sonic ran towards the wreck scene, not knowing what he was going to find when he got there. The ironic thing was that they hadn't even gotten to the main event of the day and already Sonic wished that the day was over. So much damage had already been done, some of which he feared would be permanent. But what was worse that if this is what the day was going to be like before the job tonight, he feared what was possibly about to come. He knew all too well that these last minute problems were only a foreboding to what issues they could and most likely would run into in just a few hours.


	19. Getting the Message Across

**Author's Notes**

I can't BELIEVE I finally got this done! With two weeks left in my semester before I graduate I'm busy finishing up my last minute assignments and loose ends, not to mention getting ready for finals. But I know how much you fans love this story so I got you an update. And I have some great news concerning this story. As promised the next chapter FINALLY starts the main events of the story. It WON'T be one of the car-stealing chapters, BUT it is the beginning of the parts everybody has been waiting for. Ain't got much else to say. All I can say is that I'll probably look into updating some times after the next two weeks because they are gonna be pretty hectic for me.

* * *

**Chapter 19**** - Getting the Message Across  
**

"Do you guys thinks we ought to go and see if they're alright?" Manic asked.

"What do you mean _guys_? We're girls!"

"Whatever, sis! My point is do you think we oughta go see if those two need help?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's obvious Sally's desperate to blow this whole thing wide open, but do you really think she'd go _that_ far?"

Behind the three hedgehogs who'd stayed behind a bright purple flash blinded them momentarily, their silhouettes cast upon the wall. Before they could open theirs there was a rapid stamping of feet and torrent of shouts and obscenities from the returning group.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY, BITCH!"

In just the few seconds it had taken for their eyes to recover Mina already had Sally on her knees, her arm twisted painfully behind her back and whole body pinned against the wall.

"HOW'S THAT FEEL, BITCH! HOW DO YOU LIKE IT!"

"I SAID I WAS SORRY!"

"**FUCK YOU!** YOU'RE _NOT_ SORRY! YOU'D HAVE RUN ME _AND_ SONIC OVER IF YOU'D HAD THE CHANCE! I'LL BET YOU'D HAVE LEFT US THERE TO DIE TOO!"

At this point the others came in to separate the tow of the quarreling females. Sonic and Manic took care of Mina while Sonia and Amy held back Sally. Even so, the two girls were trying to pull free, ready to tear each other's throats out if given the chance.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, MINA!"

"I WAS WONDERING THE SAME THING ABOUT YOU!"

"I'M THE PRINCESS OF MOBOTROPOLIS, **_DAMMIT!_** I'M DOING MY _DUTY!_"

"DOES THAT INCLUDE CAUSING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO MY CORVETTE!"

"IF YOU HADN'T DECIDED TO PLAY HERO I WOULD HAVE NEVER CRASHED IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"IF YOU'D LEFT MY CAR _ALONE_ THEN NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"I'M NOT GOING TO JUST STAND BY AND LET ALL OF YOU COMMIT THIS HEINOUS CRIME! AFTER EVERYTHING THIS WORLD HAS BEEN THROUGH I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE I STOP ALL OF YOU FOR THE GREATER GOOD!"

"OH CUT THE BULLSHIT ALREADY! YOU'RE JUST IN THIS FOR YOURSELF! YOU'RE A WHORE FOR ATTENTION! ALWAYS HAVE BEEN!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!"

"YOU'RE AN ATTENTION WHORE! NO, YOU'RE A **_BITCH_** THAT **_LOVES_** TO WHORE FOR ATTENTION! YOU JUST WANNA LOOK GOOD TO MAKE UP FOR THE FACT THAT YOU'RE FAMILY FUCKED UP IN THE FIRST PLACE AND LET ROBOTNIK CAUSE THE TROUBLE THAT HE DID!"

"**HOW _DARE YOU!_**"

From somewhere deep within Sally unleashed a burst of adrenaline that threw off both Amy and Sonia momentarily, but the two hedgehogs regained their grip on Sally. Even so, her strength was such that she was still making forward progress. It was at this point that Mina calmed down just enough that restraint was no longer needed. She stopped, however, when Sonic's feet suddenly planted themselves in front of her vision.

"Sis, Amy. Let her go."

"What! Are you crazy!" Amy shouted.

"You can't, like, be serious!"

"Let her go _now_."

The two girls threw a confused glance at each other, but did as they were told. There was something about the tone of Sonic's voice that got to them. It wasn't angry or demanding, mean or forceful, nor harsh or threatening. It was hard to put an adjective to it, but one could say it was of confidence. Not the kind of confidence that one with an inflated ego has, but rather that of a leader who has made a decision they know is right and is going to stick by it.

Quietly and calmly, Sally got to her feet. Her eyes stayed transfixed with Sonic's the whole time. At any moment everybody else was fully expecting to have to separate the two of them before they would kill each other. To their shock, that moment never came. To Sonic, however, this was exactly what he'd expected. With a simple tilt of his head toward the soundproof recording room they both strode off into the room without a word or glance at anybody else. The door swung closed and the locks clicked into place, indicating they did not wish to be disturbed.

"Like... what was _that_ all about?"

"I have _no_ idea," Amy commented.

"Pardon me for changing the subject, but what the hell even happened down there?" Manic asked.

"Sally had gotten to the garage, just like I thought. She used my spare key to get into my car and was going to use it to escape."

"So how did it crash?"

"I jumped onto the back and pulled the soft top off, which was _incorrectly installed by the way_," Mina stabbed, looking at Manic..

"Uhh... sorry?"

"But are you hurt?" Amy asked.

"Well it didn't exactly feel like a massage slamming into a wall at thirty-five miles an hour. Of course it hurt. If it hadn't been for the air bags I'd probably have gone right out the windshield."

"Damn! Sally was, like, desperate to get out of there if she was going that fast!"

"She would have been going even faster if I hadn't pulled the e-brake. Even then I didn't do it quick enough to stop the car in time. I pushed Sally over and tried hitting the regular brake but we still hit. I kinda glanced off the air bag and into the dashboard a little. I'm a little sore over all, but my neck. Ow... My neck really hurts... And my back a bit too."

Mina sat down on the nearby couch, rubbing her aching neck. Amy tired to be of help and gave her a gentle neck rub, which did help. Needless to say, they couldn't believe what Sally, once one of their fearless leaders in the war, had done.

"I just can't believe Sally's gone _this_ far to stop us. Like, I know she's determined and what not, but I mean come on! Do any of you ever remember her going to these lengths?"

"Well, yeah sis. She's done some pretty rad stuff in the past to get the job. But it was always against the bad guys," Manic pointed out.

"Technically, we are the bad guys in this case AH!... A little gentler there, Amy..." Mina said, wincing through a quick burst of soreness.

"Sorry... I just can't help but wonder what they're talking about in there. They've already had one conversation in private this week and now, given everything that's happened, I don't know if I wanna know what's being said in there..."

"They obviously don't want us hearing what they're sayin' so I guess we should just chill," Manic decided.

"Maybe we could help tidy up around here a bit," Amy suggested.

"I'm game. Let's do it," Sonia said

"That's what _she_ said."

"EEEEEEEEW!"

"Honestly, Manic!" Amy scorned.

"Ah shat ap," Manic whispered.

"What was that!" the two pink hedgehogs said in unison.

"Nothing."

* * *

Ironically, Manic's last spoken word was exactly what was going on in the recording room. Both Mobians stood around in the room, waiting for the other to begin speaking. The negative feelings they both had towards were obvious to both of them, which only further infuriated the two of them even more. Sally was fiddling with various objects on a table next to her, knowing that making Sonic wait would probably make him snap. After nearly ten minutes of silence, however, the Princess of Mobotropolis couldn't take it any longer and she broke the silence.

"Well you brought me in here, you gonna say something or what?"

"I was waitin' on you."

"Psht... how classy."

"Cut the shit, Sally. What the hell was that?"

"What do you mean?"

"And you accuse _me_ of acting dumb. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of how to get out of here and tell the authorities about what you are up to... which I _would have_ if Mina hadn't gone all crazy and did what she did."

"You're kidding me, right? Seriously, you've got to be kidding!"

"Why would I? I wasn't doing anything wrong."

"Say _what!_" he answered in sheer disbelief.

"Oh quit being such a drama king, like you always have been! I did what I did because I was going to prevent you and a lot of other fellow Mobians from doing something stupid!"

"Like you _weren't_ being stupid with what _you_ just did?"

"You're the one that's stupid, hedgehog. You're fully prepared to commit a hundred counts of grand theft auto, along with God knows how man other crimes, in a single night in the hopes of doing what?"

"What do you mean in the hopes of what? I'm trying to save my brother and Antoine!"

"Oh? You and what army?"

For some reason, Sonic found himself unable to find an answer to this question. He had his team of friends, but other than that, there was nobody else in on this whole movement. Sure, the head veterans of the Mobian War that took down Robotnik were on the job, but he had to admit that they didn't win the war by themselves. It was the combined effort of other groups around the world that took down the empire that had taken over the world. This time, a mere group of fourteen was trying to take down an underground empire of an unknown size with who knows how many or what type of members. The pause in Sonic's actions told Sally that she'd struck a good point and had every intention to capitalize on it.

"Didn't think of that, did you? Of _course_ you didn't. Then again, why would you? That's always been your style, hasn't it? Something comes along and you act without even thinking of what the consequences could possibly be. Did you even consider what might happen to you if you're caught? Or if the others were caught, which some of them almost already were? Reputations will be destroyed. Statuses tarnished. Relationships lost. Years of trust... _gone_. And then, of course, there's the jail time on top of that, which for something like this would probably be long enough that by the time you got out most of your life would be gone. There would be nothing left to live for. But... it's not too late. All of this can be prevented if..."

Sally picked up a cordless phone inside the room and once again dialed Vector's number. She then held the phone out to Sonic, the device's screen reading 'Send Call? "...you confess. Tell Vector what is going on. I can't say for sure if you or your brother will get off, but I'm sure the others will. Vector knows that they all look up to you and that they would do anything for you all too quickly. I'd bet that in exchange for confessing Vector will let the others off the hook. In fact, if you agree to work with him and help point the authorities in the right direction to take down Robotnik's operation, he might even let you go... but I doubt it."

Sonic looked back and forth between the phone and Sally, his mind processing what to do. Closing his eyes, Sonic's hand slowly raised form his side and took the phone, his thumb hovering over the send button. With a satisfied grin, Sally took a seat on the chair that only a short while before had held her captive. Taking a deep breath, Sonic pushed the send button and held the phone up to his ear. For what seemed like an eternity the phone hummed its dark tone into Sonic's ear as he waited for the one person he'd put so much effort into deceiving to pick up. Finally, after nearly thirteen rings, the phone picked up.

_"Chaotix Detective Service, Detective Vector Speaking."_

"Yo V, what up! It's Sonic!"

_"Sonic? Didn't think I'd be hearing from you so soon."_

"Yeah, well, we kinda left on a sour note. Didn't want to leave it like that, ya know?"

_"I see. It'll be a nice change. As I said earlier I got a mountain of work to do."_

"Yeah, I'll bet. Then I'll make this really quick, a'ight?"

_"Go for it."_

"I talked to Mina. She's cool."

_"Really? So, she didn't get upset or anything?"_

"Well, not exactly. She was a bit shocked, but more relieved than anything. She's just glad that Fang's no longer a threat to her or anybody else."

_"That's terrific. I guess you musta really gave it to her gently."_

"Vector do you have _any_ idea how _wrong_ that just sounded?" Sonic said through snickers.

_"Yeah I just got a bunch of looks from my co-workers as well. But you know what I meant."_

"Of course. And yeah, I just gave it to her straight. Nothing fancy. Just enough to get the point across... Geez! Now I'm doing it! Oops, I did it again! SHIT! I HATE THAT SONG!"

The two of them shared a good laugh over the phone. Sally, on the other hand, was so dumbstruck by Sonic's sudden change in demeanor she forgot to do anything to try and make him confess.

_"Man, if there's one thing I could always count on it was you giving me a good laugh, Sonic. I know this might sound corny, but every time I talk to you I feel so honored to be friends with such a decent being. You've never given me a single reason to despise you."_

"Well, I appreciate that. But not as much as this bitchin' leather jacket. The others thought it looked awesome on me."

_"Cool. Well, like I said, I'd love to chat more but I really gotta get some of this work done or I'll be working right through Friday night."_

"Well, I don't wanna make you do that. I'll see you later then, V."

_"Alright, you be good Sonic. Take care and- Wait a sec! Ray just came up to me. Says he needs to talk to you. Is that alright?"_

"Yeah sure, put him on."

_"Alright, here he is..."_

"Sup Ray? How you do-"

_"H-H-Hang on! Too n-n-n-n-noisy out here!"_

Over the phone Sonic could here Ray running through the noisy police H.Q., eventually stopping in what he was sure was a restroom judging by the echoes and sound of the door. Unnoticed by Sonic, Sally's fury was growing. She knew that Ray was on their side and that the chance to talk to Vector had passed. Yet, she did not do anything, hoping that possibly somebody would catch onto what Ray and Sonic were going to talk about.

"Ray, what's going on?"

_"I-I-I-I... I c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c... I ca-ca-ca... I can't-t-t-t-t-t-t-"_

"Ray, chill! Take a deep breath, and chill. Now... what's wrong?"

_"I... can't make it... t...tonight."_

Sonic's lips curled and his faced contorted with deep concentration. Apparently the problems with the day weren't over with yet. However, Sonic didn't want to let Sally in on anything more than she already knew so he was going to have to be vague and brief with this topic.

"Why?"

_"Vector brought me on to replace Espio for th-this investigation... I'm going to be here past quitting t-t-time. And then, to thank me, Vector wants to take me out to dinner with his family. Then Cream wants me to have a sleep over after what happened last night. With all of that g-g-g-going on I don't now how I'll get to you!... What should I d-d-do?"_

As much as he didn't want to say it, Sonic knew what had to be done. "Don't do anything. Just go with the flow."

_"Wh...wha... what! How can you s-s-say that! I've been helping with this since it st-st-started! And now you're just gonna dump me like I'm nothing!"_

"Ray, calm down."

_"No! I'm not going to just ditch on you guys! I'm going to help you if its the last thing I ever do!"_

"You can help. Just go with it and it'll be fine."

_"But!-"_

"_Ray_. Don't make me repeat myself. You know what you have to do."

_"But Sonic!-"_

"**_Ray_**. You know what you have to do."

_"But what will the others say? They'll think I'm a quitter... that I didn't really care."_

"Don't you worry about that. Leave it to me and it'll be fine. You just do your best, okay?"

With a reluctant hesitation, Ray finally answered with _"Okay... I don't like it, but I'll do it if you think it'll help you."_

"It will. Trust me."

_"Alright... but just one thing, Sonic. Are you alright? You sound... off."_

Sonic looked over his shoulder at Sally who, unsurprisingly, looked like she was about to doing something very bad to him. Sonic kept his cool and kept on going, not wanting to worry Ray.

"I'm cool, Ray. You just do what I said and everything will be cool."

_"I'm really sorry, Sonic... I didn't mean for this to happen."_

"I know. Don't worry. And Ray? Good luck to you."

_"And to you... S... see ya..._"

"Later."

A with a short beep, the phone was off and the call was over. Unlike all the other problems they'd faced today, this was one that had no easy solution. In fact, there might not have been a solution to it at all. To the best of Sonic's knowledge he was out of contacts or people to turn to that were in the area of that he knew would be willing to help with such a problem as the current one. The only possibility that Sonic could think of was that they would have to go a man down for part of the night and then after the smaller side tasks had been taken care of perhaps Mina, Cosmo, Amy or whoever Rouge's unnamed friend was could help out.

For the time being, though, Sonic couldn't think about it. He was faced with a more immediate threat that was about a half second away from the back of his head. It turned out ducking was a good idea. The chair Sally had been sitting on went sailing over Sonic and crashed into a stack of amplifiers, the legs of the chair going through one of the speakers and knocking the whole unit over.

"You just couldn't give up, could you Sonic? You couldn't give up! I tried to help you! I tried to get you to do the right thing! And what did you do? You lied and only got yourself and everybody else in deeper trouble!"

"I did what I had to, Sal. Things would have only gotten worse if I'd confessed"

Knowing what was coming next, Sonic turned to his side and tried to hold back Sally's swinging arms and legs as best he could.

"YOU LYING, CONNIVING, SELF-CENTERED, SON-OF-A-BITCH, BASTARD!"

Sonic pushed Sally away, but she only came back again. He was forced to push her harder, causing her to stumble away. Getting back to her feet her chest heavier with deep, angry breaths and her teeth gritted as they bared themselves in a snarl.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but tonight is going off whether you want it to or not. It just has to be that way."

"Over my dead body!"

This time Sally's rage got the better of Sonic as she pushed him over against a wall, attempting to pin him there. Her hit, however, only pushed him off to the side and wedged him up against the fallen amps. He turned around and blocked with his arm, then managed to pin her against the wall. Not wanting to lose, Sally stomped her foot down on Sonic's, making him jump back while yelping in pain. This distraction gave Sally the change to kick Sonic in one of his knees, making him drop. To try and finish the fight off, Sally tried to do a low back-spin kick. With a rolling duck he rolled under the kick, shot up onto his feet and locked his arms around Sally's and pinned them around her neck. In desperation, Sally sank her teeth into Sonic's wrist, making him wince deeply in pain. At that moment Sonic realized the fight had to end before things got worse than they were, but it was going to come at a price he really didn't want to pay. Ignoring his conscience just long enough, Sonic drew back his bitten arm but still kept a loose hold on Sally with the other. That hold delayed her just long enough for palm to meet cheek. It was nowhere near the hardest he could have hit her, but still enough to get the message across. With a cry of exclamation, Sally fell to the ground, her eyes shut as she rubbed her face.

Looking back up at the blue hedgehog, Sally muttered "How could you?..."

"You left me no option, Sal. It was either let you keep beating me up or me stopping you."

"So that's it, isn't it? You've lowered yourself to a level so low you are willing to strike not only a woman, but a _princess_. There's no denying it anymore... you really have lost your mind."

With a shake of his head, he retorted with "Have you tried looking in a mirror lately?"

"Excuse me?" she answered in surprise.

"You heard me. Last I checked you've done some shitty things yourself. Holding Mina hostage? Ransacking her house? Holding us hostage? Sneaking through a building's air and elevator shafts? Oh, and here's the biggy! Stealing and crashing a car that didn't belong to you! Does any of this ring a bell?"

"It was all done with the best of intentions."

"What?... You _so_ did not just say that! I can't believe it! I've been saying the exact same thing all day and you've kicked my ass every time. But now you're using it like the things you did are actually forgivable!"

"Oh shut up!," she shouted, getting to her feet. "Everything I did would have worked out in the end! And yes, even me taking, not stealing, Mina's car would have been fine because I would have given it back! It's her fault that its wrecked now."

"So that's your defense? Taking hostages would have been for the greater good? And because you were gonna give the car back doesn't make it stealing? My brother was right. You're a nut, Sal."

"Like you have any room to speak! It's obvious to me now that nothing's gonna stop you tonight, so the only thing I have left to turn to is to ask you one question and for you to give me a straight answer."

"Just one? Alright, shoot."

"Why?... Why are you doing this, Sonic? And don't say say to save Antoine and Manic. That's obvious. What I mean is... why are you doing it like this... Why? This is Robotnik we're dealing with here. We've taken him down before and in the weak sate he's in, we could do it again! So why? Why do you have to do something that you know is so horrible that you know will bother you from now on and that you know could end with you losing everything to take down an enemy you already know how to defeat?... Why?..."

Not able to deal with the fact that there was on way that she could prevent the night's unfortunate actions from occurring, Sally sat down in another chair at a mixing station and sniffled a bit into one of her hands while she made a frustrated fist with the other. Once again that sour feeling welled up in Sonic's gut as he knew that he'd hurt yet another person in this mad scheme. For some reason, despite having lied to Vector, an authoritative figure, and despite having involved all of his closest friends in such a dangerous mission, to see Sally so miserable really hurt. Perhaps it was their history together as the head of the war efforts half a decade ago, perhaps it was their desperation from keeping the world from going back into deep suffering again, or perhaps it was their romantic history, but this really hurt. He could have left it alone, but Sonic felt the need to explain himself. He pulled over a swivel chair from a computer and sat next to Sally. He tried to put his arm around her, but she shrugged away, which only hurt more. Nevertheless, he felt she had at least earned the right to know his motives with how far she'd gone today.

"You kinda answered your question, Sal. You say I know how to defeat Robotnik given where he is now. The truth is... I don't. When we took him down before he was a world-wide, international dictator who controlled virtually everybody and was very open about his operations. Given how he ruled, it was easy to tell who was and wasn't on our side, who's operations were who's, and what kinds of progress was being made by both sides... How much of that do we have now? We don't have _any_ of it. Aside from our closest friends, we don't know who's on our sides. We don't know what operations Robotnik has a hand in. We don't know how far his reach is. We know _nothing_. How can we attack something we know nothing about?"

Sally glanced over a bit, indicating she was indeed listening. However, she did not speak, not that Sonic had expected her to.

"Robuttnik would probably kill me if he knew I told you this, but do you want to know why this damn mission came about in the first place? He has some serious connections with some very powerful people. Although I can only guess who most of those people are, I _know_ that he's got friends in GUN because he said these cars are a form of payment to make sure that GUN's eyes are pointed the other way so that nobody tried to stop him from doing what he's doing. Think about that Sal... He's got connecting in GUN. _GUN_, the fucking **_army_** for this part of the world, has people on 'Buttnik's side. And you know what's worse? Nobody has a _damn clue_ about it. The way I look at it, if Robuttnik was able to find people to support him in the military, then who _knows_ who else is on his side. I'm sure he has friends in the government, and for all we know he could have contacts in all the major systems, even the _police!_ Vector could possibly be in danger and wouldn't have a clue! And that's just visible power sources, Sal. I'm sure there's all kinds of underground and organized crime syndicates he's got connections to as well. He might even have gone beyond Station Square and its surrounding lands. For all we know, he could have reached right back to Mobotropolis where he started it all and where some of his original contacts or connections to contacts might still be. "

Sally's ears perked up a bit upon hearing this. Clearly this was something that she hadn't thought of and wanted to pay full attention to what Sonic had to say.

"You see where this is going, Sal? I can't just go in and take down Robotnik because we don't know anything about him this time around. If we just barge in and take him out then somebody else will rise up to take his place and we'll have no idea where to look or would have had no idea that such a person could give in to Robuttnik. As much as I hate to say it, the only way that were gonna take him down this time is to play by his rules for a little while. I'm playin his little game so that he will come to trust me. If there's one thing I learned from Vector a long time ago it's that every bad guy fucks up _sooner or later_. If I manage to keep things cool with Robuttnik then hopefully he'll live up to the old saying of keep your friends close and your enemies closer. If we do this job, this creep will give us just a little bit of trust and that's all that I'll need. Once I have my foot into his door I'll be waiting for him to screw up. And when he does, I assure you, Princess Sally Acorn, that I will take him down and he will not get up again... ever."

No response came from Sally, but he knew she'd heard him. Not knowing what else really to say he got up and headed for the door. Reaching for the locks he took one last look at Sally who still had not looked up at him.

"I have to ask you one question now, Sal. I'm going to leave now and I'm going to get work work straight away because at this point we've got about four hours until start time. I just want to know... am I going to have to worry about you doing something to stop us, or do I have your trust that you're going to respect our actions, as mondo-uncool as they are?"

The heavy sigh that Sally uttered was initially the only answer Sonic thought he was going to get. But, as his hand grabbed hold of the lock, she said "I can't stop you from doing what you're going to do. Whether I like it or not, tonight is going to come and go and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. If it's what you're going to do, then... it's what you're gonna do. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into, because... it's going to haunt you from now on."

It wasn't exactly the most clear-cut or descriptive answer in the world, but Sonic knew what it meant. It was the closest thing to saying yes that Sally could muster. Knowing he wasn't going to get anything more, Sonic accepted the answer.

"For what it's worth... thank you, Sally. If it's any comfort, this'll all be over by this time tomorrow. And if things go well, maybe even Robuttnik might be brought down as well."

"_Comfort?_... No. It's no comfort at all... But, there is something that is a comfort to me. I tried to help you. I tried to stop you. But you choose to do this. This is _your_ choice, _your_ responsibility, and therefore _your_ fault. Not mine. _Remember that._"

Sonic looked away, realizing she'd agreed to his terms but had slipped a last minute jab at his confidence. Even so, he had to be strong because tonight was no time for slacking. Still, that pang in his gut was ever-strong. And for the first time, he realized Sally probably felt the same way. They were, in a bizarre way, in the same situation, just on opposite sides.

"I know, Sal. I know..." was all he could say.

* * *

The others had been in the final stages of cleaning up Mina's things when the click of the locks made their all "prairie dog" from where ever they were and looked towards the door to the recording room. Sonic came meandering out, not looking like he had much on his mind. He did look like he was puzzling a bit, but other than that he seemed rather indifferent to what had happened, which caused much confusion for the others since they had no idea what had happened, save for hearing one or two loud slams and a lot of commotion. Standing out in the middle of the room Sonic glanced back at the room from which he came, his body language suggesting he was waiting for or suspecting something.

"Dude?... You cool?"

Glancing over to acknowledge he'd heard, Sonic looked back one more time and then answered. "Yeah. I'm cool."

"So, like, what happened in there?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, sis. It's not important, nor does it matter."

"Although I'd say my amplifiers matter," Mina said sharply, having noticed he damaged possessions. "Don't worry though, Sonic. I already know who's responsible for that. You hear me, Sally! I know it was you that-"

"Mina... Don't. Please. There's been enough drama here today. Considering what we all have coming in a few hours we'd all better save what strength we have left for that."

There was a certain calmness and directness about Sonic's voice that had yet to be heard until just then. Judging from that, they all figured out that whatever had happened inside the room meant that Sonic had talked Sally down and that everything was to go off as planned. This thought, however, did bring about some apprehension as they all wondered whether or not Sally would still back-stab them anyway, a point that Manic was all too quick to bring up.

"That's it? You're not gonna tell us what happened?"

"There's no need. Everything's fine."

"But what if she goes behind our backs, dude? I don't know about you, but I don't trust her right about now."

"Didn't I just say everything was fine?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then everything is _fine_."

"But how do you know?"

"When I say everything is fine, I mean it. Ya dig?"

Manic, along with everybody else, seemed a bit uneasy about it all being so simple. Surely with how long those two had been in that room and judging by all the damage that something important must have happened, or at least something important must have been said. However, it seemed as though to them that either nothing had happened or, if something had, Sonic was not in the mood for discussing it. Whatever the case, the one thing that was certain was that the drama of the day had subsided for the moment.

"So, like... what do we do now?"

"It's getting on to four, so that means we've got about four hours. I think it's about time we head back to base and set everything in motion."

"What should we do about Sally?" Mina asked.

As if on cue, Sally had suddenly appeared in the doorway of the recording room, gazing out at the discussion. Somehow Sonic knew she was there without even having looked initially. Twisting his head around he gave her a silent glance.

Turning back to Mina, he answered "Do as you see fit. I'm not concerned about her anymore. However, I do have a request... Be lenient with her. It's the least we can do for the break she's cutting us."

This statement confirmed to everybody that somehow he'd convinced Sally to stay off their backs. However, they were still unsure if it had come at a compromise or not. Still, they knew Sonic was not going to go into detail.

With a bit of hesitation, Mina said "Alright. So I guess I'm pretty much kinda on my own schedule until I go and take care of negotiating Silver's record deal."

"Yup. You'll get a message like everybody else with what to do once we get back to base. And I'll also make sure Silver contacts you and tell you what you need to know"

"Okay."

"Same thing for you, Amy. I'll make sure Rouge contacts you and tells you everything you need to know."

"Thanks, Sonic."

"No problemo. As for you two, sis, bro, I think we should get going. I'm sure we've got some things to get ready."

"Including my story for delivery. I've got a lot of things to do there that Cosmo won't be able to do herself."

"Okay, no problem. You drop us off at Manic's place and then head to your place to tie up the loose ends."

"Sounds good. Mind if I do the magic this time? It's still kinda new to me."

"Go for it."

Taking out the purple chaos emerald, Sonic held onto one of Sonia's arms. Manic, staying true to character, began kissing Sonia's arm like some sort of gentleman, earning him a jab of the elbow. Just a few seconds before Sonia called out the incantation to teleport them away, Sonic caught a glimpse of Sally. The look on her face struck him deeply. For that brief moment, it almost looked as if she was hurt that he was leaving, but it could simply have been that she was upset with herself for having not stopped him.

"LIKE, CHAOS CONTROL!"

With a blast of brilliant purple light and a flash like lightning and a high-pitched, glassy energy sound, the three hedgehogs were gone. Having learned to not look directly at the light Amy and Mina were spared temporary blindness. Sally, however, appeared to have not looked away as she had covered her face and was rubbing her eyes.

"What the matter, Sally? Thought maybe you could hypnotize Sonic into not leaving by staring at him?" Amy teased.

There was no response from her at first, but Sally changed the subject by saying "Mina... I know I haven't exactly earned it, but do you have somewhere I could lay down?... I don't feel so good."

Amy and Mina exchanged suspicious looks, knowing this could be another ploy to do something mischievous. However, another look at Sally's posture and body language told them that something was truly bothering Sally. Remembering what Sonic had said about being lenient, Mina decided to humor her,

"There's a small guest room in the back. I'm sure you saw it when you were tearing my home apart."

"Thank you..."

"Save it, Sally. Between my house, my car, and my music equipment, the only reason I'm doing this is because Sonic wanted it. If it were up to me, I'd throw your out flat on your ass."

"And I'd help," Amy chimed in.

"... I know..."

The way Sally said those two words really struck the two girls. She really did sound remorseful and miserable. They could only wonder what was going through her mind as she disappeared down the hallway and into the small bedroom, the door closing behind her.

"Mina, there isn't a phone in there, I hope."

"No, there isn't. She sure is acting weird though, don't you think? I mean, one minute she's obsessed with stopping Sonic and tonight and then poof! She's slouched to where she is."

"Whatever went on in there must have really been... well, I don't know really. But it must have been big."

"Yeah..."

"Right, well... guess we should finish cleaning up your place and then get ready to do what we have to."

"I guess so. You know something? Only just now did I realize that it's gonna be a long night. Really long."

"Too long."

With that note, the two went back to cleaning up the rest of the mess from Sally's rampage earlier. For the moment they put her in the back of their minds, focusing on the tasks at hand. Little did they know, however, that in the back of the room Sally was silently weeping, her entity wrenching with misery and her soul aching knowing that she'd failed to stop the night's events. She rubbed her face where Sonic's hand had hit her, which only made her cry harder. The slap had gone much deeper than Sonic could possibly know.

* * *

At Manic's house Sonic stood next to the microwave, waiting for a plateful of corndogs to finish. Meanwhile, Manic was busy typing away at his laptop and doing things with his phone, getting ready to send out the message to everybody to begin. With a beep the announce the cooking was done, Sonic took the food back out to the living room and set them down on the table Manic was at.

"Dig in, bro."

"Not right now, dude. I'm busy."

"We ain't gonna have time to stop to eat tonight. You better eat a little something now while you can."

"I work better without eating. It slows me down and makes me tired."

"Alright, suit yourself... Mmm, damn these things are good!" Sonic said with a full mouth. "So what you working on over there?"

"I'm looking at an overhead map of the area around the joint where all the Lambos and Ferraris are. I'm trying to see if there's any way that we could sneak out of there, but it's damn near impossible to work with this place and not look suspicious."

"Chillax, bro. We'll talk to Antoine about it. Like I said, Robuttnik owes me. Maybe he can do something about it."

"And maybe he'll tell you to piss off and take care of it by yourself."

"Well gettin' all uppity about it ain't gonna help. Just chill. A lot of times you figure out stuff when you're not thinking about it."

"Speaking of which, you figured out a name for tonight or what?"

"Uhh..."

"You didn't, did you?..."

"Actually, I just thought of something since we're talking about where the cars are from. It made me think back to something Tails said. He said something about what we were doing was like some war tactic or something. The word he used sounded like something outta football."

"Yeah, it was Blitzkrieg. It was German for "lightning war."

"And what did it mean again?"

"It's a fast-paced, surprise attack that doesn't allow for opposition. Why did you bring that up?"

"Well, I'm no language specialist, but I'm guessing that broken down _blitz_ means lightning and _krieg_ means war, right?"

"I think so."

"Well, what's the German work for car?"

"Uhh, hang on a sec. I'll pull up an online translator... Let's see here... Car... English to German... Translate... Heh, that's an easy one. Auto."

"Coolness. How about this. Since tonight is meant to be a fast-paced job that nobody knows about or expects and hopefully won't allow for people to catch on, how about we call it... _The Autokrieg_."

With a huge grin, his brother replied "Dude, that's fuckin' sweet. Better than anything I coulda come up with."

"Well there ya go. How about on that note we send out the word?"

Manic nodded and brought up a program that would simultaneously send individual messages out to all the teammates phones and/or computers giving them all the instructions they would need to know before showing up for the night. After a few minutes of tying Manic all that was left to do was send the messages.

"All set dude. Send em?"

"Well duh!"

"Alright... Actually, since you're the big cheese now, you want the honor?"

Sonic thought about it for a minute, then slowly came over to the computer. His right index finger extended, ready to drop down on the button, but Manic stopped him.

"Dude... you do realize that it's still not too late. You can still turn back."

Looking over with a confident smirk, Sonic winked and said "Not gonna happen."

The nerves in Sonic's fingers, hands, and arms received the message from his brain to drop down. It felt like an eternity passed as Sonic's finger slowly traveled towards the enter button. In doing so, the lives of all that were involved were about to be changed forever. They had committed to be involved with that which they vowed to fight. They were knowingly breaking laws and putting their lives, reputations, and relations on the line in the hopes of an outcome that would lead to a better world later on. There was no doubt that for some time this day would haunt all who were involved, but right now everybody needed to keep a straight mind and clear sights on the mission. To fail tonight would only lead to more disaster, an outcome which was not an option. It was all or nothing, and everybody knew it. And with the push of the button, the massages were sent, initiating one last mission for the veteran Freedom Fighters.

* * *

**AND THUS THE AUTOKRIEG HAS BEGUN  
**


	20. Gearing Up

**Author's Notes**

I'm on summer break now so that means I'll have a lot more time to put towards this story as well as ones I would like to start very soon. Until then, we'll continue to focus on this one.

As the title shows, this is the start of the Autokrieg chapters. Originally there was going to be this single chapter and then chapter 21 would be the first car theft chapter. I know I will be stoned for this, but at the last minute I came up with a plot twist I couldn't ignore and I also worked out a way to use one of my OC characters in one of my own stories for the first time. Therefore, I shortened this chapter, then we'll have the really provoking next chapter and then _**I PROMISE**_ we'll start the main attraction. Just bare with these next two chapters as they will set up for an enjoyable plot from here on out.

And speaking of this chapter, just a heads up. There's some **VERY** soft-core Shadouge moments in this chapter. Honestly, it's not bad at all. Considering we've had drug use and bloody death in this story so far (among others to come), this is nothing. But I figured I'd give a heads up to people who are more sensitive to this issue.

Lastly, I can not stress enough that **YOU GUYS, MY FANS, ARE THE DRIVING FORCE THAT KEEPS ME GOING**.The more I hear from you, the more I have to drive me onwards. So please, read, enjoy, and review.

* * *

**Chapter 20** - **The Autokrieg (Part 1) - Gearing Up  
**

Although the message was received simultaneously by everybody it was sent out to, not everybody noticed it right away. The first to catch onto the message was Amy and Mina since they were not only up and about, but also knew it was coming. Receiving the message via their cellphones the two girls looked over the messages. As they'd expected the brief instructions were exactly as they had discussed, the most important piece being that everybody was given ninety minutes to prepare themselves and to start arriving between 5:30 P.M and 6:00 P.M. For them that meant they would hopefully be hearing from their other contacts, Silver and Rouge, in the near future so long as everything went well.

"Not much left to do but wait to hear from Rouge now, I guess," Amy commented.

"I guess so. Hopefully Silver won't wait until the last minute to get in contact with me."

"Same here with Rouge. But knowing her since she's a bat she's probably still sleeping. Hopefully she'll get up early enough so I'm not stuck waiting around wondering what to do."

"I hear ya."

"How you feeling, by the way?"

"Surprising good. We mongooses heal pretty quickly, so I wasn't too worried. I think with a few more hours a few more aspirin I'll be good as new."

"That's good. But... how do you think Sally is doing? I still say she was acting weird when she went to rest. Think maybe we oughta go check on her?"

"I peeked in a bit ago. I'm pretty sure she was sleeping. But it looked like she was having a bad dream. It sounded like she was trying to say something and she was flinching. I don't know what she was trying to say, though."

"Huh... I may not know Sally quite as well as say Sonic or even Julie-Su, but I know her well enough to say that something is up with her."

"You mean like she's still planning to do something?"

"Possibly, but..."

"But?"

"I get this feeling that somehow she's on our side now. I know that sounds crazy, but I just have this feeling that somehow she's an ally now."

"Well yeah. I mean, she did agree to leave us alone tonight, so I guess that makes her on our side."

"Yea, but... I don't know. Something just tells me something has changed with her."

"You know something? That just reminded me of Cosmo because of how she changed and stood up for herself."

"Oh my God, you're right! I almost forgot about that! I hope everything is okay with her and Tails."

"Me too. But it's not like his reaction was a shock, though."

"I know. I just hope that they've worked it out. Sonia's really relying on her tonight to help us out."

"As are the others on Tails to help them out."

"Yup. I just hope everything is okay. After all, he didn't take it too well. Who knows what happened after we hung up."

* * *

"This has gone on long enough! Come out of there!"

Tails was leaning against the door of Cosmo's room, his head slug low. After the call from Sonic and the others about Cosmo taking part in the night's operation things had gotten a little ugly. Had it not been for the fact that Tails' house was located in an area where it was isolated from the rest of the population the entire S.S.P.D. would have been called to the house for the resulting shouting match. On the one hand, Cosmo was defending her right to live her life, that she could take of herself, and most of all she could make her own decisions. On the other hand, Tails wanted her to stay behind because he didn't want her to put herself in danger and that there was no reason for her to get involved in something that didn't need her. Most of all, he had mentioned the fact that if something happened to her he would feel as though it were his fault and he would not be able to live with losing her again. Things went sour shortly after when Tails said that he would leave on on Knuckles' floating island with Blaze to watch the Master Emerald if he had to. Ever since that Cosmo had confined herself to her room and hadn't spoken a word to him.

"Cosmo, _please!_ Can you come outta there so we can talk about this?"

There was still no answer. Growing both desperate and annoyed at the silence, Tails took a step back and considered breaking the door open using his dual appendages. Just as he'd reached the apex of the wind-up to the strike Cosmo's door unlocked itself and opened, leaving him standing there in a pose that clearly gave away what he was about to do.

"Getting a bit desperate, aren't we?"

"Well, uh... Cosmo, I-"

"Save it. If your done acting like a little kit we've got something more important to worry about."

Tossing Tails his phone that she'd taken with her earlier Tails saw the message that had been sent from Sonic. It told of the instructions that everybody had ninety minutes to get them selves ready and to arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 P.M. It also vaguely mentioned to bring something to wear, that all questions would be answered once they'd gathered, and that a few changes were to be expected.

"Hmph... Changes? I sure hope it's nothing too serious or drastic... Maybe they decided that you don't have to-"

"Don't even think about it, buster. Even if that is what they're talking about, I'm still helping tonight."

"DAMMIT! What is the matter with you! Can't you see that if things go wrong tonight and things get traced back you'll end up connected to all of this!... You were so sure before that you didn't want to help... What's changed?"

Cosmo walked back into her room, silently inviting Tails to follow. The two sat down on her bed, Cosmo cupping her love's hands in hers.

"Tails, I know that you love me. But I'm beginning to question how much you care about me."

"What! How could you think that I don't!"

"Actually, I was thinking the opposite. I think you care too much."

"Maybe I do... But I swear that I'll do anything to-"

"More like everything to keep me safe. And that's just it. You have to understand that I am my own person and that I want to live my life. And coming from me, considering what I've gone through, that's especially true."

"I can accept that. But experiencing life by getting involved with a crime operation isn't the best way to do it!"

"I know, and I agree with you. But look at you. I know you weren't very high on this the first time around, but here you are again, going for the second try. You're showing that even in the worst of times you're willing take what comes your way and deal with it. That's what I'm trying to do too, Tails. And there's something else I want you to consider. You're worried about something happening to me if something goes wrong. But what about you? If something goes wrong and something happens to you, how am I going to feel?"

After a long hesitation with a realization of shame, he answered "The same way I'd feel if something happened to you..."

Tails felt her fingertips touch his chin, pulling his face over to look at hers. Knowing what was coming he closed his eyes leaned forward into her lips. He couldn't help but put a hand behind her head to pull her into the kiss deeper. In that sensual moment it occurred to Tails how selfish he'd been ever since the love of his life had returned. Sure it was honorable to care for her, but he had been obsessing over her, not letting her live. The truth was she was a living being just like him and she had the right to do as she thought she must. He was never going to be comfortable with her deciding to help tonight, but he at least decided he would accept that it was going to happen. Breaking away from her lips, he felt an apology was in order.

"Cosmo, I'm sorry. You're right. I was selfish for keeping you so restricted. I'm still not comfortable with you being involved tonight, but I accept your decision."

With a kind grin on her face, she answered "No apology needed. I'm just glad you understand my feelings now."

"Indeed I do. Well, I guess if things are gonna go off we better get things going then, shouldn't we?"

"Yes. I'm going to go freshen up. You go get you're little toys ready."

Laughing at Cosmo's cute use of adjectives and giving her another quick kiss, the two of them set about their tasks. In this case, an issue had been solved peacefully and without much incident. More importantly, the two had come to an understanding of each other and were able to keep things intact. However, back in the city a similar conversation wasn't going so well.

* * *

"Are you saying... you're gonna dump me?"

"... I'm sorry... Yes..."

Silver stared at the purple cat he'd had feelings for his whole life, his eyes flooded and full of sadness and pain. Blaze had just dropped the news that she wasn't interested in continuing their relationship once The Autokrieg had been completed. Naturally this news came as quite a shock to Silver, but to make matters worse it couldn't have come at a worse time. Considering everything that was going to go on in just a few hours this was now going to weigh much more heavily on his mind then stealing cars.

"But why! **WHY!** What did I do! Two days ago everything was fine between us, and now just a few hours before what's gonna be one of the worst nights of my life, you tell me this and make it even worse!"

"Surely you should be able to figure that out for yourself, Silver. Our relationship, though it may have stretched out for a long time, perhaps too long, has been anything but satisfying for us."

"How can you say that! I've loved you ever since the first time I met you and you know it! How could you ever think I don't care about you!"

"It's not that, Silver. You're just so... naive."

"But you once said that you liked that about me!"

"Yes... and I regret doing so. At first, I admit, it was kinda cute how you were. But it's kinda like snoring. The first few times it's kinda funny, but after a while it just drives you crazy. All you've really focused on for some time now is your music career. Half the time you've got headphones strapped to your ears and you're listening to your keyboard rather than spending time with me. And I've lost track of how many record deals you've tried to get and have been turned down each time. Yet all you do is talk about making it big in the harsh music industry in an even more unstable branch like techno. If that's what's important to you that's fine, but it's not good enough for me. I need something more and I'm not getting it from you."

That was the last trigger Silver needed for his eyes to overflow and began to stain his tan muzzle with salty tears, then dripped down into his large tuft of white chest fur. To hear these words come from his loved one was like having a katana skewered into his chest, through his heart, and out his back. Not thinking straight, the hedgehog collapsed to his knees and buried his face in his hands, whimpering and sobbing quietly. Blaze had expected this reaction but all the preparation in the world couldn't keep her from feeling sorry for him. After all, just because she didn't to continue her relationship with him didn't mean she hated him. To show that she did still care, she also got down onto her knees and embraced the grieving hedgehog, a gesture that he returned.

"I can't do this, Blaze. I can't do it!" he sobbed into her shoulder.

"I know this is hard, Silver. But please try to understand. I want to be happy in life with the person I'm with. You're a nice guy, I won't deny that. But it's just not going to keep working for us like this."

"That's not what I meant! Now that I know this... I don't think I'll be able to go through with tonight!..."

Upon hearing this a different attitude came over Blaze. Her face took on a sturdy look and she stood up, pulling Silver up as well with her hands under his arms. Keeping a firm grip on his shoulders, Silver held back his tears and snuffed up his runny nose as his blood-shot yellow eyes met with Blaze's equally yellow irides.

"Now you listen to me, Silver. I don't want to hear you say that. I don't want you to even _think_ it. Tonight may be one of the worst things you've ever had to do, but in some ways it's also the most important. Lives are at stake here, and so is the freedom of the world once again. If you don't perform the best you can tonight then the whole team is going to falter. If you truly care about me, then you'll give your task everything you have to complete it, just like I'm going to do, and show me you're willing to stick with something to the end."

"But all you're doing is sitting around watching over a rock! I'm going to be committing crimes!"

"Maybe so, but the way I look at it no matter what we're doing were all in this together. That means we all have to work together to get through this no matter what we're doing. So I ask now, Silver the Hedgehog... will you do your job tonight? Will you do it for your friends? For the greater good?... For me?"

Although the pain was far from gone, Blaze always had a way of saying the right words to reach into a soul and make things happen. Taking a deep breath and calming down a little the two once again wrapped their arms around one another, a gesture that they were on equal grounds.

"I will Blaze. I swear I will."

"Thank you..."

At that exact moment a red flash illuminated the whole room and a certain red echidna slammed down onto the floor.

"Hey Blaze... Awwwwww, did I interrupt you're little kissy-wissy?" Knuckles teased.

Knuckles had showed up to take Blaze to the floating island now that the word was out to get things going. Realizing that their time was up for the moment, Silver let Blaze go. He tried his best to hide his emotions so that Knuckles wouldn't see, but it was a tough task.

"Yo Silver, you alright? You look like you were crying or somethin'."

"I was... Uhh... Just gonna miss Blaze, ya know?"

"Yup. Alright Blaze, if you're ready then I'll take ya back to my place."

Blaze took hold of Knuckle's empty hand and held on tight. The echidna raised his hand to call out the words required to transport them to their next location. In that moment the two soon-to-be-ex-couple through each other a last look. It was meant to be one to reassure each other to stick to the mission, but it ended up being more of a goodbye look.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

In another flash of red light, the two of them were gone. The sourness in Silver's gut made him feel like he could be sick and pass out at the same time. Not really knowing how to combat these feelings he could only think to take his mind off of the matter and call Mina to inform her of everything she'd know to hopefully negotiate a record deal for him. However, the five-foot space between him and the phone was all he needed for him to once again drop to his knees and weep. He would call her, but not yet. He had to get the initial pain out of his system first.

* * *

Arriving on the floating island, Blaze and Knuckles landed at the bottom of the staircase that lead to the top of the shrine where the Master Emerald was located. Arriving at the top Julie-Su hopped down from the top of the giant green stone to greet them.

"Hi Blaze. How's it going?"

"About as good as can be expected, given the situation."

"Heh, I think that's the same for all of us. Well, glad you could make it. I'll let Knuckles tell you what to do for tonight."

Cocking an eyebrow at Julie, Knuckles said "Uhh, what much is there to explain? Don't let anything happen to the emerald. If someone or something tries to do anything to it, leave nothing but ash behind of whatever or whoever it was."

"Knuckles! Do you always have to be so blunt!"

"What? It's the truth. I felt safe with Blaze being a guard because of her fire-powers. I guess if you really wanted to do anything you could prove that your powers are worthy of such a job."

"Worthy?... Hmph..." she answered with slight grin crossed Blaze's lips as a small flame ignited in her palm. "Stand back."

"How far?"

Julie answered this question for Knuckles by tugging him back and racing him down the steps. Once they were at the bottom Blaze hopped onto of the emerald and the show began. She started by making the small flame about the size of city bus over top of her. Then, making a twirling motion she turned into into a fiery tornado that she balanced on her palm. From there she expanded the bottom of the funnel outward into a column that she then lowered down around her, the emerald, and the rest of the shrine. The heat, light, and sound from Blaze's abilities were both frightening and awe-inspiring at the same time. They were also almost unbearable as far as brightness and heat went. Just as it seemed the entire island would go up in flames Blaze called all the flames back to her palm and turned them back into an orange-sized ball and shot it up into the sky. After reaching an altitude of about a hundred feet the ball erupted out like a fountain and water-falled back down around the shrine, extinguishing just before it reached the ground. Needless to say, both echidnas were more than impressed with her powers. In fact, they were terrified by them as they were far more powerful than either had imagined.

"Note to self... don't get on Blaze's bad side," Knuckles joked.

"Don't even mildly piss her off," Julie added.

Looking down from the top of the shrine Blaze was pleased that she'd impressed her "employers." Yet, at tat moment a slight pang hit her in the gut and she accidentally let her emotions through.

"What's the matter Blaze?" Julie called up.

Realizing her mistake, Blaze cleared her face of emotion. "Nothing. I'm just... not looking forward to being alone."

"Well, if you want, maybe Silver can come by and visit a few times during the night," she suggested.

"No... He has to go his own way. Me too."

Not really wanting to talk much anymore, Blaze turned her back and hopped atop the emerald, sitting down upon it. The two echidnas were utterly confused, not knowing what to make of Blaze's sudden mood swing.

"What do yo think is up with her?" Knuckles asked.

"It' hard to say. I'm far from an expert on feelings and emotions, but... she's kinda acting like somebody would if they'd lost somebody that meant a lot to them."

"Hmm... easy guess where you picked up on that."

Knuckles turned away and took a seat on a random boulder sitting amidst the grass field on the island. Julie sat beside him, knowing she'd inadvertently made Knuckles call back upon his memories of his deceased father.

"I'm sorry, Knuckles. I shouldn't have said that."

"Don't worry 'bout it. Once we get out there tonight I'm sure I'll forget all about it... I hope... Maybe..."

Knowing he was hurting, Julie laid herself upon his side to show she was there for him. Above and behind them Blaze saw this and it only made the pang inside her hurt more. Thankfully they weren't looking, otherwise they might have caught the glint of a falling tear from her eyes in the late-day sun.

* * *

Blaze wasn't the only one thinking about people they missed while getting ready for the night. In her dwelling located within the city Bunnie sat on her bed dressed her favorite purple leotard, the rest of her outfit and all other required belongings next to her. Currently, however, the only thing she was paying attention to was the photograph in her hand. I was a framed picture of her and Antoine that had been taken during the past winter by Antoine's father. It was the day that Antoine has proposed to her on the snowy slopes of a skiing resort they had visited. To look at that photo now caused her a double-dose of misery. Not only was Antoine in a miserable situation, but the person who had taken the photograph was no longer with them. She couldn't help but vocalize what was on her mind to herself.

"Sugah-Twan..." she said with a heavy voice. "Wha'd this have ta happen to you? To me? To your dad?... To us?... No mattah what happens, we'll save you. And Sugah-hog's brother too. I just hope that we'll be able to have the life you an me wanted. I just hope that old Robuttnik hasn't done too much to you... I hope that you're still the Sugah-Tawn I fell in love with... and still love..."

It was evident that tonight was going to be more difficult for everybody than had originally been anticipated for more reasons than could have been thought of. Knowing that things would only hopefully get better after tonight, Bunnie sat the picture back down on her nightstand and went back about preparing her things for the night.

* * *

Similarly across town in a small garage-apartment hybrid building where Rotor lived he and Uncle Chuck, who'd been bunking there since it was closer to all the action, were also getting all of their stuff ready as well.

"So Tails is going to take care of most of the really techy stuff, right?" Chuck asked.

"Yup yup. That's his specialty. I'm more of the type that likes to work with mechanical stuff. Oh, I can work with that fancy stuff too, but Tails is just... well, a genius I guess."

"Heheheh... I'll bet he wished he had a dollar for every time he'd heard that. But you are right. That kid's got more skill than you and me combined, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Oh no, I agree with you. And considering that you basically taught me everything I know, and we passed on all of our knowledge to him to say he's smarter than us combined is saying something."

"Don't under credit yourself, though. You're one hell of a mechanic."

"Thanks, Chuck. Maybe when all of this is over the three of us can finally pursue starting some sort of large-scale thing. You know, like a big engineering firm? With our combined knowledge we might be billionaires by the time everything is said and done!"

"Heh. That would indeed be nice. Not for the money, though. For the feeling of helping the world is why I would want in."

"Oh same here. Still, what's wrong with putting a little extra change in the ol' pocket?"

"Little extra change? Your pockets would have to be the size of an elephant's ass to hold that much money!"

Rotor had to completely stop what he was doing he laughed so hard. Chuck was pleased to see his joke went over well, but he was unable to laugh as a long, powerful yawn interrupted him.

"You still yawning?"

"I ain't as young as I used to be. I need a little energy boost to get going. And I know just where I can get that."

Chuck walked over to a coffee pot and poured himself a cup, loading it with both cream and sugar. He practically chugged the whole thing down and poured another cup with another round of sugar and cream, this time returning to the table with it.

"What are you up to now? Four cups?"

"Half a dozen, actually."

"Damn!"

"Like I said, I don't have the gusto I used to have. It's getting harder to wake up these days. But hey, at least I am up, right?"

"Yup. That's what counts the most."

* * *

Ironically, Chuck wasn't the one having the hardest time to wake up. In the living space above Rouge's club both the bat the club was named after and a certain black and red hedgehog were still fast asleep. They'd both slept straight through the arrival of the message from the Autokrieg H.Q., AKA Manic's house, and were now nearly forty-five minutes into their ninety minute grant of time for personal preparation. Fortunately for them Rouge's cell phone, which was lying right at the edge of a nightstand next to the bed, vibrated itself off the stand and landed with a soft thud amidst a pile of Rouge's garments. That thud was just enough to bring the bat to consciousness. Glancing over at her nightstand clock she swore quietly realizing the late hour it was, though it was technically early for her being nocturnal. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Rouge's hand fumbled about for the device, finally finding it and pushing the button to let the call through.

"Mmph... hello?..." she answered in a quiet, groggy voice. "Oh, hey girl... Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I woulda called ya but I slept a bit long... Yeah, we did... No, I'm not gonna go into detail... Did you hear what I just said?... Fine, we made love, there, happy?..." After waiting for the giggles to stop on the other end the two contacts got down to business. "I'm sure I got a message by now. I'll find out and I'll text you where to go... Alright, see ya soon..."

Rouge navigated through her phone's menu to the text-message screen where she quickly glanced over the instructions. For her the list included the extra bit about contacting Amy and Mina's penthouse so she could be picked up by somebody to get to the club. Now armed with the info she needed, Rouge typed out a quick message stating the name of Mina's building, the address, and the words "Ask for Amy Rose." Then, just for courtesy, Rouge sent a quick text to Amy's phone as well, informing her a ride was on the way for her and she would be informed of what she would needed to know once she arrived. Realizing that she really needed to get going, Rouge went to force herself up out of the comfy, warm bed but was caught and brought back down.

"Leaving so soon?" Shadow said.

"We got a message from Manic about forty five minutes ago saying we're to show up no later than six, but they'd like it to be earlier."

"Oh? Can I see this message?" Shadow skimmed over the message quickly, noting in particular the last instruction to contact Amy."I assume that was your contact you were speaking to a second ago?"

"Uh-huh. She's going to get Amy right now, then they'll be here."

"I see."

"So uh... can I get up to get ready now?"

"Hmph... Not yet."

Shadow leaned into a deep kiss with Rouge, wrapping his arms around her. Inside her closed eyelids Rouge rolled her eyes but returned the favor anyway.

"Hey Rouge?..." Shadow said between kisses.

"Hmm?..."

"You weren't kidding when you said we'd finish what we started on that roof where we spotted one of the cars."

"Hmhmhm... Nope... Was it good for you?"

"Of course. You?"

"You never fail to disappoint me, Shad."

"Hmph. Only you can call me that and not piss me off."

"That's good to know."

With a seductive grin on his lips, Shadow pulled himself atop Rouge, all the while keeping their lips connected. Needless to say the two of them were rather enjoying this. But duty was calling, and Rouge knew it.

"Mmm... Shadow? As much as I'd love to go for another round, we really gotta get ready."

Pouting like a little kid, Shadow teased "Oh, alright. Be that way."

"Aww, don't get mad. We both know we're gonna be on edge after tonight. And I can think of a way to deal with that..." she added seductively.

"Hmm... Once again, I like the sound of that."

"I knew you would. Now can I go get ready?"

With a small smirk, Shadow moved aside and allowed Rouge to get up. Since their clothes were scattered about the room after a long night of love-making, the bed sheet sufficed for Rouge to cover herself with. Entering the bathroom connected to the living space, Rouge couldn't help but throw a sexy wink at the black hedgehog that had worked his way into her heart. Realizing he was in the clear for the moment, Shadow laid back on the black satin bedsheets, enjoying the cool sensation it sent through his fur onto his skin. At that moment Shadow had a thought that both pleased him but also made him feel a tinge guilty. Reaching inside the pocket of a black leather trench coat that he would most likely end up wearing that night, Shadow grasped onto a small, metal case. Pushing the latch aside he opened it and was disappointed after doing so.

_"Damn... only three left. Better save these for a better time,"_ he thought to himself, closing the cigarette case."Guess I better get ready. It's gonna be a long night."

* * *

As time creeped on back at the H.Q. both hedgehog brothers were busy taking care of some other things. Manic was preparing some of his own pieces of equipment to help with the night's mission while Sonic glanced over some of the data and information that had been compiled over the past few days. Currently he was looking over the car list and their locations.

"What'cha up to, dude? Picking out your favorites to boost tonight?"

"More like just figuring out which ones will be easiest for me to get based upon what parts of the town I know best. You gotta remember I haven't been around here for a while and it looks like they've changed a few things."

"Well duh! Ever heard of urban renewal? That's the way this town is. It's out with the old, in with the new around here."

"Yeah, I hear ya. I remember the last time I was here there was just one two-lane highway running through here. Now there's two eight-lane highways with no speed limits."

"Heh! Yeah, guess that's what happens when a whole bunch of people move into one area. You need space for the mall to travel on."

"Including all of you. I'm still amazed how many of the veteran Freedom Fighters moved here."

"A sign of the times, my man. Mobotropolis may have been our home, but the world's changing. This was a hot spot for new opportunity. How could we not resist?"

"True. But how crazy is it that the very place y'all moved to would end up being where Robuttnik was trying to regain power?"

"Totally crazy, dude. But hey, all we gotta do is get through this night to get my ass off the line, then we'll go save Antoine and bring that fat fuck down for good."

"I hear that. I just hope that Antoine can hold out just a little longer with that bastard. I mean... you remember the look on his face back in the parking garage when we ran into him. He looked like..."

"Shit?"

"Hate to say it, but yeah. With all the things he's been put through, especially the death of his father, we gotta do something to get him out of there mondo-fast. If we don't... well, I don't wanna even go there."

"Good idea. Don't worry though, dude. We've beaten this guy before. We can do it again."

"We will do it again."

With a loud beep, Manic's phone received a text message. Shockingly, it was form Antoine. "Hmm... Got a message from Antoine here."

"Really?"

"Yup. Hold on a sec... Huh?... Uh-oh..."

"What?"

"It says **I'm three blocks away. Need help. Now**. **Hurry**."

Thought was not required at that point. The two hedgehog's bolted out the front door and out to the street, looking for any signs of Antoine or his car. A distant car horn caught their attention and, looking up the street, they spotted a black BMW. Even at this distance there was an obvious difference with the car that made the guts of the hedgehog's turn inside out. There were visible bullet holes in the windshield and body.

"Holy shit... Antoine!" Sonic shouted, sprinting towards the vehicle, his brother in close pursuit.**  
**

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Notes**

This chapter was a bit bland, I know. But as I said above the ideas I came up with are going to improve this story so much (IMO). And speaking of then next chapter I'd say it's about 75%-80% complete. My hope it to get it up within the next few days to really keep this story moving along.

Until then, I look forward to whatever feedback you guys have to offer. As always, all reviews/critiques welcome.


	21. The Gathering

**Author's Notes**

Are you all ready for this?... (DRUM ROLL)... **AFTER THIS CHAPTER WE ARE INTO THE MAIN EVENTS OF THIS STORY!**

That's right my fans, after nearly a year and a half of hard work and patience on your behalf we FINALLY have reached the most exciting and anticipated part of this story. It seems like it's been a long time coming (and really, it has been) but we're just about there. HOWEVER, we have to get through this chapter first.

Normally I try to keep my chapters to a length of 8K to 10k words, which seems about right to me. This chapter is just shy of 15K words, which now makes it the longest chapter of the story. Looking back now I really could have made the previous chapter a tad longer. However, the difference this long chapter has over the last length-leading chapter (Chapter 10) is that all the events go together, where as the previous one could have been split in two. I admit I do not like making chapters too long for you guys, but in addition to it being good practice for future stories with more advanced plots it also is appropriate to have a good run-up to the main events of the story. And since I threw in quite a few things that I hope were a bit unexpected, like a few plot twists as well as one of my OCs it makes the length worth it. That's my defense. I hope it's plausible.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that the round of reviews that came in a few weeks ago were amazing. Those are the kind that are so helpful to me because they let me know that what I'm doing is not only enjoyable but also effective and proper. Information like that motivates me to keep doing the best I can and lets me know I'm keeping you happy too.

All criticisms/suggestions/reviews welcome.

* * *

**Chapter 21 - The Autokrieg (Part 2) - The Gathering**

It seemed like it took an eternity for the three block run to finish, especially considering Sonic's gift of speed. Approaching the bullet-holed vehicle the two hedgehogs came to a surprise halt when Antoine stepped out of the car by himself, seemingly like nothing was wrong.

"Zat was fast!"

"Dude, are you alright!"

"What are talkeeng about? Of course I am beeng fine."

"But what about your message?" Sonic asked.

"What of eet?"

"It sounded like you were in trouble, and from the looks of your car, something had to have happened."

"Oh, zat? Eet eez of no concern."

"No concern! Dude, you already piece of shit car looks like a hunk of Swiss cheese!"

"Conseedereeng zee trouble zis theeng 'as geeven me, I don't really care."

"Then how the hell did this happen?"Manic asked

"And where you even there when it happened?" Sonic added.

"No. Long storee short, Zis eez zee first time I 'ave been outside and 'ave used zee car. Een between zis morneeng and now Robotneek brought een sombodee, I don't know who, for some sort of deel. Apparentlee zee deal went very zour and 'e threateened to exzpose Robotneek unless he got 'ez way. Robotneek lied and said he would geeve zee client what he wanteed, but he was reely goeeng ot keel heem. Zis guy caught on to zat and tried to eescape by stealeeng zis car. Judgeeng by zee damage, you can feegure out what happened."

"But.. where's all the blood and shit? Surely with that many holes the guy got hit." Manic asked.

"Oui, zee eentereeor was covered een eet."

"Then where's all the... well, you know," Sonic hesitantly said.

"Remember 'ow I said zis was zee first time I've been outside today? What do you theenk Robotneek had me doeeng seence zis eez my car?"

"Uhh... I'm gonna quote our sister on this one, dude... _EEEEEEEEEEEEW_..."

The truth was obvious. Antoine had been put on clean-up duty and had to clear the vehicle of any "evidence" remaining from the morning's execution. Even so, they still didn't have answer to why Antoine needed help.

"Then if you're not hurt, why'd you text us saying you needed help right now?"

"I'm out of gas. I theenk zee gas tank was heet by a bulleet."

"You mean to tell me I just had a heart attack over an empty tank of gas?"

"Don't get so mad yet, dude. If there's stray gas from a leak it could hit something hot and catch on fire. Give me a minute."

With his wealth of mechanical knowledge Manic checked over a bunch of things and places where gas could have been lost or trapped. The weird thing was that even with all the holes, the gas tank and fuel lines appeared to be fine. Also, looking inside the car Manic couldn't smell any gas. Right before getting out, however, he finally found the issue.

"A bullet went through the back of the gauge cluster, destroying all the wiring. That's why the gas meter still read a half tank despite being empty."

"Oh, so zat would explain why zee gaugees weren't workeeng! Good, at leest eet wasn't sometheeng more serious. But we can't leeve zee car 'ere. I tell you what, you two push zee car and I'll steer, yes?"

Both hedgehog's gave the coyote a "WTF" look, for the both knew that this was not going to be fun, especially given that they hadn't had a say in the matter. Even knowing the good news that Antoine wasn't hurt didn't make having to shove such a heavy car down the street didn't make the situation suck any less.

**

* * *

**

Back at Mina's place the two girls were currently on the phone. Sonia had called real quick to say that Tails and Cosmo had arrived there and were helping out for just a bit. Meanwhile, Mina was talking with Silver about everything she'd need to know about negotiating a record deal tonight for him. Amy's call ended first and she came in on the end of Mina's conversation

"Right, so going over this one more time. Your song "Dreams of an Absolution" is to be used as your first single, your trance album is meant to be played straight through, the remix tracks all have proper permission from their artist to be recorded, and don't settle for anything less then the figures you gave me?... I think I got it then. So you'll be over ASAP... Got it. Then I'll head to where you were gonna meet with the record producers... Actually, I'll probably take the train... Yeah, my car was in a little accident today... No, I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about. Trust me. You just bring over everything I need, okay?... Alright, I'll see you soon Silver. Bye."

"So on a scale from one to ten, how hard you think this is gonna be for you to get a record deal for him?" Amy asked.

"I'd probably say about... a thirteen, actually."

"That bad, huh?"

"It'd be a lot lower if I knew what the hell I was dealing with. I'm a singer, not an electric-music artist."

"Well, it's like Sonic said. No harm in trying."

"Yup."

The land-line phone for the building rang. Mina's hunches were answered after hearing what it was for. "That was the main desk. Your ride is here."

"They didn't happen to say who it was, did they?"

'"No."

"Hmm. This is freaking me out a bit. All I know is that this is some friend of Rouge's or something like that. I'm guessing that means it's somebody she knows back from her thievery days."

"Possibly. Which makes it all the more strange Rouge didn't invite her to help tonight if that's the case. But I guess she wanted somebody she trusted to run her club along with you."

"Yeah, I guess. Well, only one way to find out. Guess I'll head on out of here. Good luck tonight, Mina. And be careful."

"Thanks Amy. You too."

After sharing a quick hug Amy left the penthouse while Mina went to get a few of her things together to make the trek to the train station to go meet Silver. Arriving down in the lobby Amy asked where the person that had asked for her was and she was told in the parking garage. After taking the short elevator ride down to the garage Amy looked around for whoever she was supposed to meet. Out of curiosity she decided to go find Mina's Corvette to see what kind of damage had been done to it. Spotting the car's bright yellow paint she approached it, noting the damage was mainly to the front left. Since the car was made of mostly of fiberglass the body wasn't dented, rather it was scraped and snapped open. Pieces of the front bumper and left fender were broken off, the left headlight fixture was dangling in pieces, and the front left tire looked a little damaged, probably from sharp car fragments that had broken off. She also noted the broken pieces were sitting inside the car.

"What a shame," Amy said out loud.

"You got that right."

Amy's flinched at the sudden appearance of another being. She could have sworn she was alone, despite being told to meet the contact in the garage. Turning around Amy was met by somebody she'd never seen before her whole life. Standing before her was an all black female cat, save for her pink nose and inner ears. She had a fairly decent body build, although not nearly as well as Rouge. Her black hair was pulled into a tight pony tail and she had long bangs, both of which had bright green highlights on the tips and were held in place with a green head band. Also bright green was the cat's mascara on her eyelids and eyelashes, both of which equally complimented her naturally bright green eyes. Currently she was dressed in a combination of what could be considered a "goth-emo" attire. She had long, black, baggy jeans and green Converse-style shoes paired with a green top and a black leather with green-highlights sleeveless leather jacket that she had slung open.

"Hmph! You could have at least introduced yourself, ya know! Instead of sneaking up and scaring me like that!"

"Don't raise your voice to me! I'll fuck you up if I have to!"

"WHAT!"

"Hmm, deaf and dumb. Like a lot of other people out there."

"What the hell is your problem! And just _who_ the hell are you, anyway!"

"What did I just say about raising your voice to me?"

Amy summoned one of her hammers to show she meant business. The feline, however, only smirked and crossed her arms.

"It's a neat trick, but I ain't scared by that. So what is that, anyway? You're little bitch hammer?"

"Bitch... Hammer!..." Amy grunted through her teeth.

"Quite a fiery little attitude you got there, girlfriend. Tell me something... Your name Amy?"

"Whose asking?" Amy asked threateningly.

"The one that's gonna give you a ride to Rouge's place. That is if you stop being such a little bitch, first."

"_You're_ the help Rouge hired?" Amy said incredulously.

"Hired? Girl, I've known Rouge a long time and a hell of a lot better than you do. Rouge doesn't hire me to help her, she _asks_ me to help her. And if you keep this shit up it's gonna be one long night 'cause I'll not only leave your ass here but I'll give you hell when you do get to Rouge's club. Now you gonna drop the attitude or what?"

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get going. I want to get this night over with."

"What's the matter? You scared?"

"Of course! A lot of my friend's lives, including my boyfriend's, is on the line. And you should be worried too since Rouge is helping us tonight."

"Worried about Rouge? Please! That girl can look after herself. Hell, she could do the whole job herself, I'll bet."

"And since we're talking about her, can we please get going and get to her place."

"Pushy girl! I'll bet your boyfriend loves that about you. The sex must be _terrific_. But if you wanna go, that's fine. My ride is over here."

Although her blood was boiling from the onslaught of insults and derogatory comments that had just gotten thrown her way, the night was going to be complicated enough as it was and she didn't want to take it further. Hurling her hammer up into the air and letting its power fade and dissolve away she slowly let her heart rate come down. It didn't stay down long, however. Her heart began to beat rapidly again when she saw the "ride" the cat had. It was a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, fittingly for its owner in a black and green paint scheme. Although far from an expert on motorcycles, Amy could tell just by looking at the machine it was fast. But what made things worse was that Amy noticed a certain lack of helmets for either her or the driver.

"Uhhh, pardon me for asking, but don't you have any helmets for us?"

"Helmets are for pussies. And coming from me, that's saying something."

Amy hesitated. The idea of riding a motorcycle was bothering her to begin with. She was bothered even more by the fact that she wouldn't have a helmet or any other protective gear for that matter. But lastly, despite having been talking to her for a few minutes, Amy still didn't know the name of Rouge's helper.

"You gettin' on or what?"

"I just wanna know one thing."

"Yes, I'm a good driver. I've been riding motorcycles probably longer that I've been walking."

"That's good to know, but it's not what I was gonna ask."

"Then ask already, dammit!"

"I just wanna know... what's your name?"

"Why do _you_ care? What's it to you?"

"Well, considering that Rouge picked me to work with you it would at least be courteous if I knew what I could call you!" Amy snapped.

Although bugged by the attitude, the feline paused for a moment, considering the request. "You can call me Avarice."

"Avarice... What kinda name is _that_?"

"Hey, you asked dammit! You got all up in my business and then you give me an _attitude_? The hell's wrong with you?"

"Would you relax already! I don't have any problems with you. I just meant was that you real name or a nickname?"

"Yeah, it's a nickname. And that's all you're gonna get from me. Now..." Avarice stated, starting the motorcycle's engine. "... do you wanna talk some more, or are we gonna ride?"

With a knot in her stomach, Amy attempted to mount the motorcycle. It was a tough task considering the rear seat was so high up and there was barely anything to grab onto. She finally got up by basically jumping up onto and pushing off of Avarice's back and sliding up onto the seat.

"Damn! Trying to push me off or something!"

"Uhh, I can't really keep my balance on this little seat! What do I do?"

"Shit... another rookie bike rider. You gotta lean forward and hold onto me."

"You mean around your torso?"

"No, my boobs! What the hell do you think! Although... riding that way might get a lot of attention from the guys, don't ya think?""

Not wanting that conversation to go any further, Amy did as she was told. Avarice then put on a pair of black-with-green-lenses cat's eye sunglasses. She then offered a pair of similar glasses with an opposite color scheme to Amy.

"You may want these. It'll keep shit from getting in your eyes."

Although disgusted by the provocative glasses she put them on anyway. Amy's heart skipped a beat as she watched Avarice pull on the clutch lever and clicked the bike into gear with her foot.

"Alright, hang on girl. I'm gonna take you on one of the best fuckin' ride of your life."

Straight off the line the feline opened the throttle all the way, leaving a rubber patch where they had just been. Had she been holding on just a bit less Amy may very well have slipped right off. Clamping onto the brake lever the bike slid sideways and positioned itself for the exit ramp which they took at full speed. At the apex of the ramp they caught a few feet of air and landed in the middle of the street. Another power slide sent them on course for the nearest entrance ramp for Route 280. Amy only held on for dear life, wanting nothing more than the seconds-old motorcycle ride to be over.

* * *

Meanwhile, back up on the thirtieth floor in Mina's penthouse she too was ready to go. She had all the things she'd need to spend a night outside her home as well as some things to possibly help her with the record deal negotiations. The only thing left she could think to do was go get Sally. She figured by now she probably felt better and would be able to leave. However, when she got to the room where Sally was staying she found the door slightly ajar, which it had not been just minutes before when she went to get herself together.

"Hmm... Sally? You alright?" Mina said as she opened the door.

A lightning bolt shot through the mongoose's gut once she'd opened the door. The room was empty. Somehow Sally had managed to sneak out without being heard. Mina was about to rush to the building phone to ask if Sally had been seen when she saw a small note left on the pillow. It was brief, but what it said made Mina terrified.

* * *

**Mina,**

**I'm sorry for everything I did today. I will repay all damages I have caused.**

**I'm also sorry for leaving without telling you. I've made a decision and I'm sticking to it. **

**I'm doing what I have to.**

**Sally**

* * *

There was only one thing Mina could possibly imagine Sally was off to do. Realizing there might be little time at all she instinctively reached for her cellphone and dialed Manic's number. Normally he would answer no later than the third ring. However, after six rings, it was clear that something wasn't right on the other end. Fearing the worst, Mina dialed again, but the same result. Dialing once more she prayed she would get through this time.

_"Come on Manic, answer!... Oh God, I hope they're not... Where are they!"_ she thought frantically.

* * *

It was now just a little past five-thirty, the time when everybody was expected to show up. Fortunately, Antoine had run out of gas about three blocks from Manic's house so the task of pushing the vehicle to his garage wasn't as bad as it couldhave been.

"I guess this was bound to happen... sooner or later," Sonic groaned to his brother.

"I _swear_... _this car_... is _without a doubt_... the **_biggest_** _piece of shit_... I have _ever_ seen... **on four wheels!**" Manic grunted.

"Well, what would you expect?... It's got over half a million miles on it..."

"An engine that runs worse than somebody's bowels with the flu..."

"An interior less inviting than a swamp..."

"Non-functioning gauges, including the fucking _fuel gauge_," Manic swore, diagnosing why the car had run out of gas.

"And a cartridge with a spare key," Antoine added from behind the steering wheel.

Despite their vexations, both hedgehog's collapsed with laughter against the trunk of the car after hearing Antoine murder another common saying.

"That's partridge in a pear tree," Sonic barely managed to gasp out.

"Whatever. You were knoweeng what I was meaneeng."

By the time they finally got there both brother's had built up a bit of a sweat and had to take deep breaths to get enough air into themselves.

"Well, that was mondo-uncool."

"I hear that dude."

"Merci beaucoup, guys. I'm am appreceeateeng zee 'elp."

"Yeah yeah yeah, mercy bucket yourself," Sonic said, pushing his hands against his back to crack it.

"Hmph! And you geet on my ass for sayeeng theengs wrong."

"Whatever. Let's just get this garage shut and get back inside."

Manic tried to pull the door shut, but just like last night the door was stuck. Giving it everything he had Manic only managed to pull the garage door an inch or so.

"Shit! Can you guys give me a hand with this?"

All three of them pulled down on the door with all their might, but years of rust and lack of lubrication didn't make the job any easier. In the end the trio ended up crashing down to the ground when the door handles broke off and, ironically, the door shot backwards into the fully-open position.

"What zee fuck! Eez zis a treek door or someseeng?"

"Great!... Well, there's no closing that thing anymore."

"But what about zee car? Eef Robotneek knew I'd left eet een zee open he'd keel me! Leeterallee!"

"What about that tarp over there?" Sonic asked, pointing to a blue plastic car cover.

"That's what I use for my Camaro. Or _used_. Might as well, I guess. Put it to good use."

The two hedgehog's got the tarp while Antoine removed both a large bag with food form a local fast food restaurant and a garment bag that surely contained another choice of attire for the night. With the car covered the three headed inside. Sonic wasted no time emptying the bag's contents and picking out a chill dog to eat.

"I feegured you'd go for zat."

"Damn right!... Manic, you gonna eat somethin' or what?"

"Ehh, maybe just a little bit... Hey uhh, dude? You seen my cell phone?"

"Nope."

"Oh shit. Where'd I put it?" Manic said, beginning to frantically check all of his pockets.

"You left it in the house by your laptop," Sonic answered.

"What? No I didn't. I left it in on the couch, I thought."

"You left it with your computer."

"No I didn't."

"Wanna bet?"

"How much?"

"Ten bucks."

"Make it twenty."

"You're on."

Antoine only shook and snickered his head at the way the two grown brothers were acting. Sure enough Manic's phone was right where Sonic had said it was. With a bummed look on his face Manic took a twenty-dollar bill out of his fanny pack and held it up to Sonic.

"Keep your money, bro," he said, swatting the bill away. "You need it more than I do. Besides, I only did that to prove a point."

"Let me guess. To trust what you say."

"Pretty much."

"Alright, point taken... What the?... Damn! I got ten missed calls on here!"

"Ten? Do you theenk sometheen eez wrong?"

"I sure as hell hope not. We've already had enough drama today with-"

His sentence was cut off by the phone ringing again. Looking down at the display he saw it was Mina's number. He decided to put it on speaker phone.

"Mina?"

_"Oh thank God! I've been trying to reach you like crazy!"_

"Yeah, I noticed. About ten times at least. So what's up?"

_"Manic, we've got a problem! Sally's disappeared!"_

The two hedgehog's threw each other a concerned glance while Antoine looked on in confusion.

"Sally? As een Preencess Sally?"

_"Who was that?"_

"Eet's me, Antoine."

_"Is he the only one that there!"_

"Aside from me and Manic, yeah," Sonic answered.

_"Nobody else has showed up!"_

"Well, Tails called and said he'd be here shortly because he was dropping Cosmo off at Sonia's place. He also said our sis would be here here in a bit too."

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Nobody really knew what to think or expect at this point. With Sally's location and intentions unknown, they could only hypothesize as to what was going to happen next.

_"Sonic, I'm so sorry... I should have kept a better eye on her."_

"Don't say that, Mina. I don't want anybody's minds elsewhere tonight. You did nothing wrong."

_"But... what should we do now?"_

"Exactly what we've been doing... Getting ready to get through this night."

_"You mean... you want us to keep going... despite the fact that Sally is out there doing who knows what?..."_

"Yes."

Once again, a very long silence. Each of them knew this could already be over before it got started. All, however, except for Sonic. Although he was concerned about Sally's whereabouts, he wasn't quite as worried as one should be in the given situation.

_"... I trust you, Sonic... I'll keep to my plans."_

"Okay. Be careful, Mina. And good luck."

_"And to you... especially..."_

The line went dead, leaving them to ponder the rest of the night. The fact that they'd reached the critical hour and barely heard from anybody, let alone seen them save for Antoine, was concerning. Their concern, however, was short lived. A bright red flash erupted out of thin air and two very familiar echindas dropped into the room.

"Yo Sonic! Sup!"

"Knux! Right on time, my man!" he answered with a round of knuckles punches.

"How 'bout a bit of lovin' for the ladies?" Julie asked.

"Hey, that's my job," Knuckles commented.

"Pervert," she answered.

"You got that right. Anyway, good to see you guys. Glad you could make it."

"We the first ones here?"

"You got that right, dude. You and Su beat everybody, except for Antoine here. His damn car ran out a gas a few blocks away and we had to shove it into my garage."

"Man, that sucks. I say when this is all over you guys let me have my way with that car. I'll give it a treatment it'll never forget."

Manic began to go into a wild fit of the snickers, so much so he fell to his knees. "What are ya gonna do, Knux... fuck the tail pipe?"

The ensuing chaos of Knuckles and Manic engaging in a non-serious wrestling match ensued for several minutes. Unsurprisingly Knuckles was winning, his strength far too superior for Manic to overcome. And as fate would have it, Sonia and Bunnie showed up right in the middle of it all.

"Like, get a room you two. Ew!"

"Oh grow up," Manic growled, getting to his feet. "So sis, how is it that you got here before Tails did if you had to get everything at your store set up?"

"Because Tails had to go get Uncle Chuck! DUH!"

As if on cue, a yellow light announced the arrival of Tails and Uncle Chuck.

"Oh... yeah."

"Hi there Sonny-boy!"

"Unc! Good to see ya," he said, giving his uncle a tight hug. "How ya feeling?"

"Well, after about eight cups of coffee, I'm wired and ready to go!"

"I think you're a little past wired there, Unc. More like jittery. Oh, by the way, where's Rotor? I know you shacked up with him. Everything cool?"

"Uh-huh. He was just getting some last minute gear together. Silver was there when me and Tails left. They were gonna go to Min'a real quick then they'd be here."

"Speaking of which..."

Sonic approached Tails who was in a deep conversation about technical stuff for the night. He felt the need to thank Tails personally for allowing Cosmo to help that night.

"Yo, Tails..."

"Hmm?"

"I, uhh... Well, I just wanted to say thanks for letting Cosmo help us tonight. It really is a help."

With a kind grin, Tails play-punched Sonic's shoulder. "Don't worry 'bout it. Me and her had a little chat and agreed it was... well, I don't wanna say the right thing to do, but it was a thoughtful decision that we both agreed on."

"I just want to make sure there's no hard feeling between us or between you and Cosmo. I know you weren't really happy about this in the beginning, so..."

"Like I said, Sonic. Everything's cool. Let's just worry about tonight, a'ight?"

"More like concern ourselves with tonight. Worryin' never did any good."

With that issue taken care of, the only thing left to do was wait for the remaining team members to show up. It took a little while for silver to show up becuase he was waiting for Mina's train to drop her off. Once she'd arrived at his building Silver and Rotor teleported there to make sure she was squared away and then showed up at the H.Q. at about ten minutes to six.

"Sup guys!" Rotor announced.

"Heeeey, Rotor! You got all your little toys for us tonight?"

"Yup. I've even improved upon a few things since last time to make the job even easier."

"Sweetness!... Woah, Silver! What's up with the long face?"

"Huh?" Silver asked, his mind returning to reality. "You say something?"

"Uh, yeah! I asked why the long face. Something on your mind?"

"Well... yeah. But I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well that's too damn bad. Rule number one tonight is that I want everybody's mind on the task at hand. If we don't focus tonight something will go wrong and then we'll be in big trouble. So unless you can assure me you tell me what's on your mind, I'm not gonna feel comfortable with you being on the team."

Taking a deep breath, Silver came up with an answer that was the closest thing to the truth he could come up with. "I'm just worried about Blaze being alone on hat island. I feel like we're deserting her out there. It just bugs me because I care about her so deeply and I don't want to lose her for some reason."

"You got nothing to worry about," Knuckles chimed in. "You shoulda seen the show she put on! I mean, holy shit! She created this fire tornado thing from her hands and made it swirl around the emerald shrine, then shot this big fireball up into the air and made it pop and rain down without burning anything! Trust me, Blaze has nothing to worry about. She'll be fine and I'll bet she'll jump right into your arms once this is all over."

"There, you see?" Sonic finished. "Nothing to worry about."

"You're right," Silver lied, putting on a fake smile. "I'm cool."

"Cool. Well, I guess that's everybody then."

"Woah, wait a sec dude! A certain black hedgehog and sexy bat haven't shown up yet."

"EEEEEW!"

"Oh shut up, sis!"

"Shadow and Rouge running late? Never thought I'd live to see that day!" Uncle Chuck admitted.

"I hear that. I woulda thought they'd be first to show up," Tails admitted.

"Well, they got about ten minutes to get their asses here on time. If they don't then I'm not gonna be to thrilled," Sonic added firmly.

"I am wondereen what eez keepeeng zem, anyzeeway." Antoine voiced.

* * *

Atop the roof of Rouge's club Shadow stood overlooking the skyline, his ears perked up as they scanned through the various sounds of the city. Rouge had requested he go up there to see if he could hear or see Avarice coming. Although it was a ludicrous possibility that one would be able to see or hear a single motorcycle approaching on the nearby Route 280, Shadow decided to do it anyway. Although he did so to please Rouge, he also took the liberty of taking care of another issue. Leaning against the banister of the rooftop facade Shadow took an inhalation of a cigarette he'd had in his trench coat from earlier. By now there were only a few puffs left and he'd planned on making them last as long as possible. That, however, was not to be the case. As faint as it was, Shadow was fairly certain he heard the sound of an approaching motorcycle from the highway. Of course, it could have been anybody since there were hundreds if not thousands of motorcycles in the city. Nevertheless, he had to acknowledge that it could be Avarice and Amy.

**_"Damn... Once again my enjoyment is being cut short"_** he thought to himself. Taking a deep breath he inhaled the last bit of the dried leaves and held his breath as long he could, then released, even managing to blow a smoke ring as the last of the fumes exited his lungs and into the atmosphere. A slight grin crossed his lips at having performed such a trick, but he found himself wondering what to do with the smoldering butt of the cigarette. Not wanting to leave any burn marks from smashing it against a surface he cautiously retreated back down the roof staircase to the living quarters and then the bathroom. Not but a second after he'd tossed the evidence into the toilet bowl Rouge also entered the room, having come from the basement laundry room where her wardrobe for the night was.

"Anything?" she asked from the doorway.

"WHA!" Shadow yelped, spinning around and blocking the view of the tell-tale sign of his secret habit. "Oh Rouge, you caught me off guard."

"And at a bad time, apparently. Pardon me," she answered, giving him his privacy.

"No apology needed" he answered suavely. "I think your friend might be here soon. I'm fairly certain I could hear a motorcycle approaching."

"_Good!_ But I'm _still_ gonna smack her when she does get here! I can't believe how late she's made us! I _swear_ she does this just to irritate me! With all the gloating she does about the expensive watches she likes to buy you'd think she would actually use the to tell time! _BUT NO, OF **COURSE** NOT!_ I'd bet my wings that she probably pulled over half a dozen times just to flirt with some guy that doesn't give two shits about her in the hopes of either getting his money or action in bed! If it weren't for the fact that I knew she was well educated in mixology I wouldn't have even thought about calling her for help!" After pausing to take a breath, she added **"DAMMIT THAT GIRL CAN PISS ME OFF!"**

Shadow couldn't help but chuckle at his girlfriend's rant as she paced back and forth across the room setting out all the components of her dress for the night's mission. Her chosen attire was her "Riders" outfit, consisting of a black with white lining belly shirt, black bell-bottom pants with white floral designs at the bottom, pink and white sneakers, and short-length versions of her pink and white gloves. The quiet snickering made Rouge's fog of irritation lift and she noticed Shadow eying her fervidly. Only then did she seem to realize that the whole time she'd been venting and setting her clothes out she'd been doing so in nothing but her rather revealing lingerie. She knew all to well this had all been rather entertaining for him.

_"I gotta try to talk my way out of this one..."_ she thought. "Did you hear a damn word I said? Or were you just enjoying the view?"

"Both... but more so the view," he admitted, approaching her. "You don't know how sexy you get when your angry."

"Oh? Do you like that side of me?" she said seductively.

"Oh yes," he admitted, his arms encircling around her lower back and pulling her close. "Nothing like a little bit of spice in your attitude to liven things up."

"Spice? I'll give you spice." After twirling one of her legs around Shadow, she asked "That spicy enough for you?"

"Hmm... not quite. But how about..." he added his own moves by grabbing onto her leg with his left hand and pulling her into a deep kiss with his right. "That?"

"Shad... you're so naughty when we're alone."

"I know."

The two returned to their romance just for the hell of it, Shadow's right had traveling ever further South down Rouge's spine. But just inches from Shadow's desired destination, a loud engine rev and horn blast outside announced Avarice and Amy had finally arrived. A deep growl crawled out of Shadow's throat at yet another interruption.

"Aw, is the little hedgie upset?"

"_Yes_. I liked where we were going with that."

"Me too. But work comes before play, my love. You go greet the girls so I can finally get some clothes on, otherwise I'll be doing this job in nothing but my panties."

"I wouldn't mind that," he added with a smirk.

"Oh, would you get out of here already!" she yelled playfully, pushing Shadow out of the room and closing the door.

Realizing it was time to get into character, Shadow went into "serious" mode and went proceeded to the back door. Unlocking and opening it her found Avarice standing by her motorcycle, grooming her hair like a cat would. Amy, on the other hand, looked a little green in the face and was walking a bit bow-legged from not being used to riding a motorcycle.

"Ahem!" Shadow spoke seriously.

"Hi there, you sexy hedgehog," Avarice said alluringly. "Been a long time."

"It has."

"Did you miss me? Be honest."

"No."

"Damn, do you have to be _that_ honest!"

"Yes."

"Oh, don't be like that," she continued in her sexy tone, approaching Shadow while swaying her hips and batting her green eyelashes. "You know you missed me just a little. I know I certainly missed that serious demeanor of yours. That debonair attitude melts my heart into a quagmire of emotion that ferments into a tonic of avidity that I can't help but wish to use to quench the concupiscence that a bachelorette such as I lives with as each lonesome day befalls me."

Shadow only crossed his arms defiantly, unimpressed by the overly-dramatic monologue. "I praise your knowledge of vocabulary, but that damsel-in-distress routine was pathetic. Even a scoundrel wouldn't have fallen for that, so I can assure you that your chances are non-existent for trying to seduce me."

"Your loss," Avarice answered, shrugging. "Here I am, offering myself to you at no cost, and your turning me down. It sad to think that somebody as sexy and available as you would so willingly turn down an opportunity like this. I mean, if you're not into women, that's cool, but-"

**"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!"** Amy screeched in white-hot irritation. "Shadow's too decent a man to want to be involved with a skank like you! Why don't you just leave him alone and start thinking about somebody besides yourself!"

"Oh no you _didn't_ just call me a skank!" Avarice yelled, baring her sharp teeth.

"And you called me deaf and dumb! You're not only deaf and dumb, but you're _also_ a whore!"

That was the last straw. Letting out a loud hiss, the feline threw off her gloves and let her sharp claws extend from her paws. Amy likewise drew not one but two of her signature hammers and was more than ready for a fight. Taking fighting stances the two girls were ready to take out their stresses when Rouge literally flew out of the above living-quarter's window and landed in between the two of them now dressed in her "Rider's" gear.

"If you two wanna beat each other into submission, that's fine. But you're not going to do it on a night like tonight and you're certainly not gonna do it on my property. If anybody wants to fight me on this you're welcome, but it's the wrong choice."

"Get out of my way, Ro! I'm gonna slit that hedgehog's fuckin' throat for callin' me a skank!"

"Wrong choice," Rouge said quietly and quickly.

Though Avarice tried to charge at Amy, Rouge performed an amazing low-spin kick, sending the cat tumbling and falling flat on her stomach, face-down in the driveway. Before she could get back up Rouge pinned her "friend" down with one of her feet.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"You always were a weakling when it came to pain. Oh sure, you act all bad-assed with your claws and you can dish out a decent hit, but one hit and you're down. Now... are you gonna play nice?"

"NO! NOT TILL THAT BITCH IS TAUGHT A LESSON!"

Rouge flipped Avarice over and wrenched her up to her feet with her fists clenched to her shoulders. "The only lesson that's gonna be taught is the one from me to you about being a pain in my ass. I'm so pissed at you right now that I could give you a worse beating than Amy ever could with those hammers! Now you better get your act together, Av, or you're gonna have to answer to my dark side! GOT IT!"

"But Rouge!"

"_WHAT DID I **JUST** SAY!_" Rouge screamed, pulling Avarice right up to her face.

"BUT... Alright, fine! I'll let the little pink pin cushion off this time. But if she starts her shit with me again, it's on!"

"So long as it's not on my property," Rouge added, letting her feline friend go. "Now if the drama-shit is over, you and me gotta talk about tonight. I've got some special people coming with some special orders and you're gonna have to be not only at the top of your game but also your best behavior."

"Hey, when it comes to running a bar I'm good. Not as good as another skill I have, but pretty good. Lead the way, Ro."

Still visibly irritated by her friend's actions, Rouge and Avarice proceeded into the building. Amy relinquished her hammers and followed close behind. Before entering, however, she flagged down Shadow.

"Something wrong, Amy?"

"I just wanted to know... Is she always like that? Avarice?"

"Hmph... Unfortunately, yes. And since I'm sure I know what you were going to ask next, yes, she and Rouge do get along like that. Not all the time, but they certainly do have their tiffs. It's just the kinda relationship they have."

"Hmm. I think I'll skip asking just what kind of relationship that is."

"A wise choice. It's a hell of a long story."

A faint BEEP-BEEP broke the momentary silence. Glancing down at her digital watch Amy made a slight "uh-oh" expression, peaking the black hedgehog's. Motioning to see the watch, Amy held up her wrist and showed the time. Shadow scowled and winced at what the numbers said..

"Dammit..."

It was six o'clock precisely. They were now officially late.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later Sonic stood with his arms crossed, his foot tapping, staring at his watch. His irritation-level was quickly climbing as the seconds flew by and still no Shadow or Rouge.

"**_C'mon_** Shadow, we're _waaaaaaiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiing_," Sonic said out loud.

"Chill, dude. Come over here and get something to eat. You begged for it, now you're just standing around," Manic noted, indicating the spread of fast-foods to choose from.

"You'd think it wasn't a lot to ask for everybody to be here no later than six. BUT _NOOOOOOOOOOOO!_ And of all people, Shadow's the one that's late! I would have bet vital parts of my anatomy to Antoine being late thanks to his piece-of-shit set of wheels giving out, but Shadow's the one keeping us up!"

"Hey y'all, look!" Bunnie shouted.

Right on cue, a brightly-colored light indicated the said couple was just seconds away arrival. Sure enough Rouge and Shadow came out of the vortex and were situated amongst the rest of the crew. Shadow looked fairly agitated, which was saying something considering he always looked that way, at least to the others. Rouge also seemed to have a few sour feelings going on as well. However, Sonic stood with his arms crossed and his eye-brows arched in displeasure.

"You're late."

"Thank you, sir obvious," Shadow retorted. "Care to tell us something we don't know?"

"Oh, there's plenty of that. But first, care to tell me why a ninety minute notice along with a thirty minute grace period wasn't enough for you to arrive on time?"

"We overslept. We felt it would be better to be fully rested for tonight's mission," Shadow answered in a concealing lie for the real reason they'd overslept.

"And my stand-in for my club's bar took her good-old-time getting to my place. I take full responsibility for our tardiness, Sonic. We were ready to go despite oversleeping. If I'd stressed for my connection to get Amy and arrive at my place faster this wouldn't have happened."

Upon such a bonafide confession, Sonic decided to back off a little. After all, Rouge was one of their most skilled theifs for the night and to lose her in any way, shape, or form, would spell potential failure for the mission.

"Forget about it. You're here and that's all that matters. You're both important members of this team, you Rouge for your experience and Shadow for your intelligence. I'd rather have you here late than never. And I really mean that."

"Thanks Sonic," Rouge said.

"Much appreciated. However, I must ask something. As I look around the room I'm noticing the suspicious lack of another I thought was supposed to be with us tonight. Is there something we don't know about?"

Sonic's toes curled in annoyance at Shadow's observation. Nobody, not even Sonic's siblings, knew about the fact that Ray wouldn't be there tonight. Suddenly everybody had caught onto this and looked to the blue hedgehog for an answer.

"Thanks for the observation, Shadow."

"My pleasure. Now how about an answer?"

"Yeah, seriously dude. Where's Ray?"

"Taking a deep breath, Sonic had to tell them the truth. "I was going to save this for the pre-mission briefing, but I guess I'm gonna hafta tell now... Ray won't be joining us tonight. "After a round of surprised responses from the crowd, Sonic raised his hand for silence. "I know you're all wondering why this is the case. How many of you heard on the news today about the incident last night that ended the reign of Bark, Bean, And Nack, AKA Fang?"

"Sugah hog... are you sayin' what I think think you're sayin?..."

"Yes Bunnie. Me, Manic, and Ray were involved with that last night. That buck-toothed bastard tried to gun me down right outside this house last night because me and Shadow showed them what's-what at Rouge's club. After a quick chase we ended up running into those guys as they tried to escape. Literally, hence the lack of Manic's Camaro in the driveway. Nack killed Bark and Bean for failing him, then he took about a dozen doses of cocaine and started shooting at anything that existed. Long story short me and Manic fought Fang off just long enough for Espio to shoot an arrow right threw his throat. I don't remember anything after that since I passed up after being beat to hell by that miserable prick. I was taken to the hospital for safe-keeping and precaution."

"WHAT!," Sonia screeched, reflecting the shock of everybody else. "You couldn't, like, even tell your own sister you were in the hospital!"

"It's like I said, it was more for safety-sakes and keeping the media out of my face then anything. I was fine. But the important thing is this. Manic stayed long enough to plant an old version of our car list amongst Fang's stuff to make it look like he was responsible for the failed operation a few nights ago. After talking to Vector earlier today not only did he not suspect us at all of being up to anything, but a freight-train of things Fang did in the past made it seem like he really was responsible for what happened."

"That's quite an entertaining story, Sonic. But it still doesn't answer the question of why we're short one team member tonight."

"Maybe if you wouldn't _interrupt_ I could get to it."

"Maybe if you wouldn't keep _avoiding the issue_ we'd all get an answer."

"Maybe if you two would both stop _fighting like a bunch of little kids_ we'd get somewhere!" Sonia said affirmingly.

"Thanks sis... I think... The reason why Ray couldn't make it is, ironically, due to our success in redirecting Vector's attention. Since we turned him onto Fang's path the amount of things they had to look into went through the roof. Also, according to Ray Espio wasn't working today. Knowing Espio, he probably got all distraught from having to kill Fang and Vector let him have the day off. I think you can see where I'm going with this. Since Ray was in training to join the Chaotix, Vector thought he couldn't have picked a better time to give him some on-the-job training. Sadly for us it was the worst timing ever."

Needless to say, this information came as not only a surprise, but also a disappointment to everybody. Knowing they were both going to be a man down for the night and the fact that it was their friend Ray, who'd willingly decided to lay his life on the line for them, couldn't made good on his promise.

"Congratulations, Sonic..." Shadow said coldly.

"Excuse me?"

"I said congratulations. Not only did you keep your whole team in the dark about what happened last night, but you also failed to keep us up to speed about what you did today, which while beneficial in a way, was incredibly reckless and potentially dangerous to blowing the mission's cover wide open. And, to top it off, you failed to foresee your actions would cost us a team member. I would say it's a pity, but coming from you, it's not a surprise. Your tendency to act before thinking and to take the easiest route possible to the final destination has caused problems in the past and here, once again, in the present, it has done so again. I therefore can see only one course of action from here."

"Enlighten me, " Sonic answered, his eyebrows arched with anger.

"With pleasure..." Shadow retorted, stepping up to and getting face-to-face with his rival. "You are not fit to be the leader of such an important operation as this. You poor decision making skills and brashness will only lead us to failure, which is not an option."

"So what'cha sayin'. Gonna challenge my authority?," Sonic said coldly.

"More than that... I'm relieving you of your duties..."

It seriously looked like Sonic could kill Shadow right then and there. The same could be said when Shadow about-faced and took his position beside Rouge. To the black hedgehog's surprise, Rouge didn't have an approving look on her face.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"More like what _am_ I doing. And what I'm doing is renaming a new leader and assistant to that leader to replace the reckless blue hedgehog that's been calling himself our leader without being worthy of such."

"Your a real creep, you know that! Like, not only are you a creep for trying to kick off my brother from being our captain, but where do you get off naming yourself and Rouge our new leaders without a vote! Not that I'd support your choice anyway!"

"When did I say I was going to name myself? You only assumed that. Don't worry, Sonia, because along side Rouge I am naming your other brother as her assistant."

"Screw you, dude. My brother started this operation and I'll be damned if you take that away from him."

"You should be grateful I even considered you, Manic. After all, you did fail the first attempt. If it were up to me, I'd throw you and Sonic off right now. But that's no longer my decision. We'll have to turn to Rouge for that."

Despite her tough exterior, Rouge looked not only shocked out of her mind, but also speechless. Not only was she unprepared for Shadow's drastic actions, but she also did not desire to be put into such a situation in such a forceful way.

"What do you think Rouge? Should we drop those two from the team?"

"I... I... I CAN'T MAKE THAT DECISION!"

"Sure you can. I have faith in you."

"NO! It's no that I can't! I DON'T WANT TO!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Sonic shouted, taking a step forward. "The last thing we need less that two hours from the start of this mission is a civil war between team members! Rouge, don't listen to him! Shadow, you step any further over the line consider yourself off the team! I will not stand here and let you do as you please!"

"Well that's too bad, Sonic. You're already finished. And I know full well you're not about to fight me for the position because you know damn well you need both Rouge's and my help to get this job done tonight. So unless you do want fight me right here, right now, I'm afraid there's not much you can do."

"... You're right, I'm not about to attack a teammate..." Sonic admitted, a hint of defeat in his voice.

"I thought so. It's like I said before... you're through."

"_You **wish**._"

It was a new voice that uttered those final three words. Shivers shot down the spines of everybody in the room, even Shadow, for none of them had been aware that another was present. The voice had been closest to Shadow, causing him to spin around on the spot.

"PREENCESS SALLY!" Antoine exclaimed.

"That's the name they gave me."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shadow spat.

"Taking a stand for what's right."

"Is that so?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, I don't really care what you're standing up for because I'm in charge here and I want you gone. _Now_."

"Now is that any way to talk to a Princess?"

"Save it. I don't even have to think twice about whose side you're on. Your reaction to Sonic's announcement about this mission a few nights ago told me everything I needed to know."

"And the way you're acting tonight tells me everything I needed to know. Face it, Shadow. You only what to be the leader because you're scared and if you don't have control over this situation then you'll feel insecure. Quite frankly, I think you're acting like a little kid."

"Fascinating hypothesis. Sadly, your words mean nothing. You are not part of this team, you are not part of this operation, and most importantly, you're not part of this city's government. The end result? You have no reason to be here."

"Maybe so, but I am here, aren't I?"

"Speaking of which, how the hell'd you get in here? I didn't even hear you come in!" Manic stated.

"You wouldn't have. I got here right as you and Sonic went running up the street after Antoine. Since I figured I wouldn't get another chance to sneak in unnoticed I took advantage of the opportunity and hid outside amongst the jungle of a lawn you've got around here and would listen in on what was happening. Once I heard Shadow here taking things into his own hands I snuck in threw a window and... well, that brings us to now."

"You got a lot of nerve!" Sonia shouted, jumping to her feet.

"If you think I was going to let Shadow continue on the path he was going you're crazy."

"You're just up to no good today, aren't you! First your little stunt at Mina's house, now this!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shadow inquired.

Sally took a position that allowed her to be seen by everybody in the room. "Earlier today I staged my own operation. I held Mina Mongoose against her will and made it seem as though I was searching her apartment for clue as to what you guys were up to. As luck would have it, both Sonic and Manic showed up so I held them as well. I tried to convince them to surrender and tell Vector what they've been up to, but they resisted. Shortly after Sonia and Amy showed up and foiled much of my plans. I was reduced to trying to steal Mina's vehicle and escape, but that too was foiled. After that Sonic convinced me tonight was going off no matter what. Between then and now I've been doing some thinking and I decided I had to take an action. And so I did."

"Sally..." Chuck said, getting his feet. "You know I respect you, but if ratted us out, I don't think I could _ever_ forgive it!"

"I understand your concern Charles, but I did not tell the authorities. Instead, the action I decided I had to take hasn't happened yet."

"And what might that be?" Shadow added cruelly.

At that point she turned her focus back to the group. "The truth is that... I'm after Robotnik too."

It took a minute for all the shocked looks and reaction to cease, but once they did, Sally continued. "I've been in this city for several months now, trying to find out whatever I could about Robotnik. You see, after the war I set up a system that would keep track of those on the world's most wanted list. For a while it worked just fine. We were able to track our targets just fine. Then, in more recent times, the system seemed to start going foul. Leads were shaky, patterns were erratic, and information seemed to be harder and slower to get. Something inside told me something was up so, several months ago, I took it upon myself to take a leave of absence from my kingdom. I made it appear I was going on a tour for peace, but in reality I wanted to try and find out what was going on."

Sally took a breath so that all of this information could sink into everybody's mind. Needless to say, it was a surprise to all that all of this time Sally had known far more than they did.

"I started following the strongest of the weakest links I had to find out who or what was affecting our system. After months of jumping form location to location with next to nothing to go on I ended up here, in Station Square. Once I got here I found some of the most solid evidence I'd had in a long time. I suspected I was close to the source, but I couldn't be sure. I was starting to lose the trail again when I heard the news story about a failed large-scale grand theft auto operation. When I saw the news story somehow I knew that it was your handy-work, Manic."

"You serious?"

"Yes. Somehow it just felt like something you would do. It didn't exactly have your name all over it, but it just felt like a plausible lead. Sure enough, after just a few days of digging and following, who else shows up but Sonic. I knew there was no way that Sonic would get involved unless it was something _that_ serious. However, I could never have dreamed how deep this all went. I could never have prepared myself to hear Robotnik was trying to regain power, nor the fact that he was into black-market business, that he was rebuilding key elements of his old empire, and most of all, that he'd killed Antoine's father. I knew right then and there that I had to do something. "

At this point Sonic had finally decided to speak up. He'd figured it all out. "You were testing us all along... weren't you?" Sonic asked.

Sally looked into Sonic's querying face. Though she did not speak to him at first, she didn't have to. That look that Sonic had seen in her eyes earlier was back. No longer did she try to kill him simply by looking at him. She looked at him as if they depended on one another. It was the same look that used to be in her eyes back during the war when the Freedom Fighters were about to set out on a mission.

"Yes Sonic... I was."

"What the hell does that mean?" Shadow interrupted.

"May I inform him, Sal?"

"By all means."

"What I mean Shadow is that Sally's known a lot more than us all along. That's why once she learned I was around and what we were up to she wanted to try and scare either me or all of us out of doing what we were going to do because she knew this was a way to get the answers she was looking for. But, she had to be sure that we were sure we were committed to this mission, despite the dangers. If we backed out because of her actions it wasn't safe to use our plans to go after Robuttnik. If we stayed true, then she felt our plans would most likely works. Am I right?"

"_Spot on_. Plus, when you mentioned to me earlier today that Robotnik's reach may very well be beyond this city I realized that was probably why my tracking system broke down. I'm certain Robotnik has gotten to people in Mobotropolis. That means his influence is spreading and nobody knows about it. He has to be stopped. No matter what, we can't let that bastard rise again."

Sonic approached the Princess, slightly apprehensive as to how she would react to what he had to ask. "I agree with you, Sal. Once we get through this mission and get Manic and Antoine's lives off the line, taking down Robuttnik becomes priority one. But... after hearing you say everything you just did, there's something I have to ask you... You wouldn't have gone through all the trouble you did for the past few days without a reason. And now I think that reason is clear. Sally... are you in, or out?"

Sally took a step closer to Sonic, looking deep into his face. "I want something to be clear, Sonic. Nothing's changed between you and me. I'm not doing this out of love for you and I certainly I don't agree with your method of attack. I _never_ will. But I accept that, given the current conditions, there's no other choice. Something has to be done, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand aside and not doing anything about it... I'm in."

Sonic half-looked like he could cry. Sally offered her hand to show they were on equal grounds for the mission, but Sonic couldn't contain himself. He pulled her into a tight embrace, and despite their past, Sally found the will to do so as well. At that point everybody came to terms with the fact that Sally was now on their side. There was even a round of applause and whistles of approval from the rest of the team, save for one black hedgehog. He turned to Rouge and lowered his voice so as to not be heard.

"Do you _believe this_? You and I would make far superior leaders to this team than them!"

"I don't care about that."

"_What?_ Why?"

"Because what I _don't_ believe in how you just acted! What were you thinking!"

"I was thinking of you. You know we've got far more to offer than they ever will! I was just trying to-"

"To what? Assert your male dominance? Prove that you care about me? Take control of a situation where control is only an illusion?"

"But-"

"There's nothing to say. That was uncalled for. I never asked for what you just tried to do and I damn sure didn't want it either. And you'd better hope that you can redeem yourself not only in the team's eyes, buy mine as well."

"...Rouge, I-"

"YO!" Manic interrupted. "You two dudes up with Sally joining the team, or what?"

Rouge wasted no time voicing that she was all for the move. She then looked to the hedgehog next to her, giving him a barely-noticeable scowl. Defiant as he was, he could not deny the fact that Sally was their new teammate and that she had helped secure Sonic's position as team leader.

"To use your words, I do not agree with the decisions made. But, I will accept them because the only thing that does matter is getting through this night alive and being able to go on to stop Robotnik once and for all. Princess Sally... welcome aboard." Shadow dropped to one knee and crossed an arm in front of him in a bow of respect.

The night wasn't getting any younger at the rate things were going, so Manic got to his feet to make an announcement. "Well dudes, I think we've got a full team back. I hate to break up such a touching moment, but we still got a lot to do and just over an hour and a half to do it. If we're gonna start on time, we gotta get it in gear, and right we gotta do it right now."

The group silently agreed. It was time to get things going. In just ninety minutes the freshly-strengthened team would embark on their task, ready to get it done. Though the team was grateful for Sally's contribution, nobody was more grateful than Sonic. For the first time all week he finally felt as though he take on the job without any doubts.

* * *

Things moved fairly quickly from that point on since a lot of time had been lost in all the commotion. Over the course of the next hour topics of discussion included the routes best to take and not take take with the vehicles, with such factors as complexity of the route, police activity, surveillance, and basic overviews of certain systems, equipment, and devices the team may find in the cars they encountered throughout the night. There was also a brief discussion on the various transmission types and how they worked in the various cars, as well as a few general driving tips for certain vehicle types as well.

There was also a brief explanation from Antoine about what would occur when somebody would deliver one of the cars to the dock Robotnik had designated them to go to, a topic Sonic was already familiar with. While Antoine had been on the spot Manic posed the question of whether or not Robotnik could assist them any way with the difficult extraction of fourteen Italian autos from one space. Although Antoine couldn't reach Robotnik at that time, he did promise he would bring it up at the first drop off, for Robotnik had informed him he'd be there and wanted to meet the entire team personally.

Lastly, one of the most important discussions was of the gear and equipment everybody would receive for the mission. Manic went into detail about the "basic thief toolkit," which mainly consisted of basic tools that the group was familiar with, though it did contain some special items, including the classic "Slim Jim" pick for older car locks, as well as store-bought mini-binoculars and hammers specialized for breaking windows with a single strike. Rotor had a more mechanical-type kit that was mainly concerned with more advanced tools that could be used to complete tasks Manic's basic tool kit couldn't complete as well as more environmental issues, like getting around un-pickable locks on doors and parking structures, prying open garage doors/gates and parking-lot barriers, and even a custom-built tool for removing parking boots, and all too familiar sight in a city full of traffic violations. Next was Tails with his electronics package that included such devices and frequency finders the open garage doors or disable car alarms/security systems, mock transponder keys that would send the correct ignition signals to cars with more complicated start-up systems, mini-computers that could bypass kill-switches and electronic engine-disabling systems, along with a whole list of updates for the software on the MARIA communicators Tails had given everybody a few days prior. Finally, Manic took stage once more for he had thought ahead and procured fourteen sets of black gloves and, if needed, ski masks if things really got sticky.

By the time all of that was done nearly an hour had passed and the only thing left to do was to get dressed and grab the gear. Some were already set to go such as Manic, Sonia, and Sally, who wore their normal attire while Rouge had already come in her "riders" outfit and Bunnie in her cow-girl attire. Tails and Rotor, both having piloting experience, chose brown bomber jackets, although Tails had a pair of standard driving goggles while Rotor a pair of prescription yellow-lens night driving glasses for his sensitive eyes.

Much of the remainder had some sort of leather attire. Sonic had his black Saleen jacket, Julie-Su wore a black jacket over her traditional black and green vest, Knuckles had acquired a brown vest to go with his brown fedora hat, and Silver, much to the distaste of the group, had chosen a white jacket with that seemed to go against all practicality and style-cues for him. It didn't come as a surprise that Shadow had chosen his black leather tench coat to wear. However, what was a surprise was that Antoine had switched up his blue royalty jacket for a black leather trench coat that he'd brought in the garment bag from the trunk of his car, although his only went to a little above his knees while Shadow's went to his shoes. Lastly, Chuck had donned his old blue denim coat that he'd had for years.

With just twenty minutes left distribution of all of the gear began. No sooner had they started when Sonic spotted a red flag. Under Shadow's trench coat he noticed the hedgehog had not one but two 9mm Beretta 92FS pistols with spare magazines on a shoulder holster. A quick look around showed Sonic that Antoine had a similar set up while Bunnie had her Smith & Wesson Model 627 .357 magnum revolvers attached to hip holsters and Julie-Su had her double-barrel proton gun in a side holster as well.

"Woah woah WOAH! Hold on a nano-second! I don't recall our instructions requiring people to bring _guns_ with them tonight!"

"So what?" Shadow answered coldly.

"_So what?_ I'll tell you what! No guns! NO EXCEPTIONS!"

"Why?"

"Do I _really_ need to answer that?"

"Yes."

"_Fine_. I think I've made it fairly clear that tonight is about getting through this damn mission as smoothly and easily as possible. Part of that is we're not to hurt, or _kill_, anybody!"

"Who said I would use it to kill somebody? Haven't you ever of scaring somebody?"

"Haven't you ever heard of the police? They see you with those things and you're screwed!"

"He's right. Ah'm sorry, sugah-hog. I guess I kindah grabbed them outta force ah habit, ya know?"

"Yeah, same here," Julie added.

"That's okay. I understand. Better to try and prevent a problem now then after it's happened, right?"

"If only you'd done that before we wouldn't be in this mess," Shadow stabbed.

With an angry glare Sonic held out his hands and, very reluctantly, Shadow handed over his firearms. However, when he turned to Antoine, the coyote shook his head.

"I can't do zat, Soneek."

"Excuse me?"

"On Dr. Robotneek's orders I am to be armed at all zee times. That goes for tonight more so than zee ever."

"I don't really give a damn what that fat ass said. Hand over the guns _now_."

"I can't do zat! Deedn't you 'ear me say eet was an order from Robotneek? Eef I go against heez weeshes zen eet eez blinds for me!"

"Curtains, Antoine. _Curtains_," Manic stressed.

"Whatever."

"Can I at least see what you're carrying?"

Sonic soon regretted that question. From one of the dual holsters Antoine pulled out a handgun that made Manic's, Rotor's, Chuck's, and Tails' eyes light up. Sonic knew that these were the engineers of the group so whatever this gun was wasn't good news.

"Dude... do you know what that is?"

"Do I want to?"

"It's a Glock 18C," Tails stated.

"Which is a fully-automatic machine-pistol," Rotor added.

"That's not available to the civilian market," Chuck further added.

"And that'll own anything or anybody that's on the wrong end of it," Manic finished.

Rubbing his forehead with disbelief, Sonic asked "Ant... maybe I don't wanna know, but what are you doing with something like that?"

"Well, Robotneek wouldn't want me to goeeng eento detail, but, let's just say eet's part of a deal weeth one of heez top conneections."

"G.U.N.?"

"Oui."

Once again, Sonic could only shake his head at the realization that one of his team members was armed with a deadly and illegal military weapon. More over, there was nothing he could do about it. Shadow caught onto his stress and wanted to capitalize on it.

"Bet you wish you'd let me be leader now, eh Sonic? Wouldn't have been such a big deal if it were up to me."

"Can it, bone head... Ant, the last thing I want to do is piss off Robuttnik because, let's face it, he's already furious with us. If he wants you to have a gun, then I guess there's nothing I can do about that. BUT TO THE REST OF YOU... this night is about paying a debt, nothing else. I don't want violence to come into this, got it? If there's trouble I want you to just turn and get the hell outta there... okay?"

At this point tension and nerves had gotten to everybody and only silent nods or gestures answered the question. After Manic safely hid the weapons in hidden compartment in the wall behind a faux ventilation grate there was only one thing left to do.

"Alright guys, time to get into teams. Judging by what's happened so far I think I can tell who's paring up with who. Toss over the emeralds and I'll distribute them accordingly."

"According to what?" his brother asked.

"I'm color-coding the teams. Whoever can harness chaos-powers in the team will get a emerald that corresponds to them."

"Uhh... okay. Any reason why?"

"Nope. I guess it's just easier that way. I guess."

"Damn fool..." Shadow muttered under his breath.

"I'd better get that purple emerald," Sonia instructed.

"In your dreams. It's mine" Rouge informed her.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes."

"You wanna bet?"

"Sure. How much?"

"Enough" Sonic said, not wanting another argument to break out. "I'll flip a coin when we get to the purple one, alright?"

This was satisfactory for everybody. Most of the choices were fairly obvious. Knuckles and Julie-Su got red, Sonic chosen blue for himself and Sally, Tails and Uncle Chuck got yellow, Manic and Antoine green, and Silver and Rotor got white. That left purple and cyan emeralds left. Much to Sonia's disappointment she lost the proposed coin toss and watched as her favorite-colored emerald went to Rouge. She was even more upset when she was handed the cyan stone, wrinkling her nose and lips as if she'd just been handed a chunk of coal.

"I think that's it. And we've got... fifteen minutes left. I guess everyone should just take that time to... prepare themselves," Sonic instructed.

"Isn't that what we've just been doing?" Shadow asked coldly.

"Use your head just for once, Shadow. Please."

"And if anybody has to use the bathroom you'd better do it now. Trust me, I've made that mistake before" Manic mentioned.

The house took on an eerie silence at that point. Some took to fumbling with their belongings, like Knuckles running the brim of his hat through his fingers or Rotor twirling his glasses about. Others were making final checks on their gear, like Tails checking things on his communicator or Chuck looking over the vast piece of technology he knew his mentoring had gone into helping make. Still further some weren't doing anything at all, like Shadow and Silver who stood around, just trying to clear their heads. Antoine and Manic had the most on their minds since their lives were on the line, although Antoine felt a little better since Bunnie with with him. This prompted Manic to try and call Amy, but he didn't get through, so he had to settle for a text message. All of them, however, did have one thing in common. In one way or another they were all thinking about the mission that was about to occur and the effects it was going to have on them. They knew they'd chosen this path freely and that nothing had been forced upon them. Even so, they all knew their lives would never be the same after the next twelve hours.

The only two members not present were Sonic and Sally. The two of them had retreated to the front porch and were gazing up at the sky which seemed to be clouding up a bit. For a while they said nothing until Sally broke the silence.

"Looks like a storm might be coming in..." Sally commented.

"Yeah... Maybe... Hope not, though."

"Yeah..."

"You're not having second thoughts... are you?"

"No... I'm just thinking about how much this reminds me of the last time we went up against Robotnik. When we stopped his Doomsday Project six years ago. Still feels like yesterday we did that. I can remember everything..."

"Me too. I just wish it was a similar mission we were going on now. Instead we're going on this little trip..."

"The only thing is I don't know if I'm more scared now or back when we took down Robotnik."

"Don't be scared, Sal... I don't care what's happened in the past with us or what's gonna happen tonight. I'm still here for you. Remember that."

"I know..."

"...Sal?"

"Yeah?"

"...For what it's worth coming from me... thanks for being here."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Just like old times?" he said with a bit of a smile.

"Just like old times," she returned with the same reaction.

Glancing down at his communicator it informed him that it was three minutes until the top of the 8 o'clock P.M. hour. Sally saw it too. A quick exchange of looks told them it was time. The two headed in to find the rest of the group sitting in silence. His presence told them what they already knew.

"Juice time," he said in the most reserved manner he ever had for that particular sentence.

A final quick rounds of checks spread throughout the room as everybody made sure they had everything they needed. There was also a quick farewell exchanged between Bunnie and Antoine since they weren't on the same team for the night. With the checks done Manic ran around the house real quick to make sure all doors and windows were locked, as well as if there seemed to be anybody loitering around. Seeing he coast was clear he then turned off all the lights so that the house wouldn't call much attention, not that anybody normally came around Manic's way anyway. Now the team stood in the dark, hushed house, save for the slight glow from Manic's computer that would run all night as the central information database for everybody in the field. Closing the laptop screen the room became even darker, the only light coming from a dim streetlight outside.

"All set, dude. Everybody's got their first assignments. The rest can be accessed from the field."

"Cool. Everybody get with your partners."

Without words and only minor glances, the fourteen veterans formed into seven teams of two, each with their chaos emerald to take them to their locations with ease. However, they all knew that the chaos emeralds would only take them where they needed to go. The cars would actually have to be driven in, for the power required would either be too attention-getting or would be too difficult for those less experienced in chaos powers.

With the teams prepared and just over a minute to go, Sonic wanted to say one more thing. "I just wanted to say thank you... to all of you... for doing this. We do this right, we do it fast, and we do it without hesitation, we'll set everything straight. We _will _save Manic, we _will_ save Antoine, and we _will _stop Robuttnik. I know that this is the last thing we all thought we'd do in our lives, but this isn't about us. If Robuttnik rises again he's not gonna hold back. If this is what we have to do to prevent that, then there's only one thing we can say..."

Without even saying it, the entire group, Shadow included, shouted "LET"S DO IT TO IT!" At that point only seconds remained until the start of the new hour. The seven Mobians gifted with the ability to harness chaos powers lifted their magic emeralds into the air, their soft luminescence casting slight shades of color upon the faces of the group around the room. Then, the teammates that did not have such powers held onto either the hands, arms, or both areas of their partner and waited to be transported to their first location. The few seconds that were left felt like they lasted an hour a piece, for time had slowed down upon the assembly to give them a placebo-effect to rid themselves of any last bad feelings they had about the night so they could give it their full effort.

At some point during this seemingly endless string of seconds Sonic thought he felt Sally's grip tighten on him. He also thought that perhaps he felt her move ever so slightly closer to him. However, his mind dismissed it, instead accepting the answer that she was merely preparing for her body to undergo the radical act of teleportration. In that moment the infinite time sequence ended and a simultaneous resounding of fourteen double beeps from everybody's communicators announced that eight o'clock P.M. had come. On cue, the seven brains of the holders of chaos powers sent a message through their nerves to shout out the incantation to initiate their mission. With the chorus of seven cries of "CHAOS CONTROL," the room was ablaze with the full color spectrum as the seven individuals powered up and their team mates held on tightly, the power seeping into them as well to take them to a space between spaces without moving.

For a moment the room was filled with a brilliant incandescence not unlike a that from the flash of a bolt of lightning, then went dark, barren of any living beings in it. All that followed was a slight rush of air and a wave of dust being tossed up from the atmosphere disturbance. Only the central laptop made a noise, a low, hypnotizing hum as its electronic brain transferred all the vital information to the Mobians who were surely settling amongst the city, just like the dust that now settled among the house.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Avarice the Cat** © to me, R0cknR011. All rights reserved to me. Don't use without permission.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I hope that above rights claim wasn't a bit over the top. Somebody suggested to me a while back I should do that since she is entirely of my creation. That DOESN'T mean other authors can't use her. All I ask is that YOU ask and I'll gladly work with you.

Other than that, I only have one thing heads up for you. I have no idea how long the next chapter will be (NOT THIS LONG), but don't be surpised if it's only about 5K of 6K words. Reason being is I don't wanna drag these chapters out and drain them of thier energy.

ALSO, the upcoming chapters are going to get very into car stuff. I realize that not everybody is going to have an understanding of the technical and/or mechanical things I'm going to go into detail about. Just know that I do this because this really is the only part where the cars get the spotlight, thus I feel they should be regarded as if they were characters and developed as such.

And speaking of the cars, what I'm going to do at the beginning os all chapters that include the car thefts is a list of each car a character is going to get. The reason I do this is so that you can look up what the cars look like an an image search engine (Google image works well). Although you don't HAVE to I HIGHLY SUGGEST THAT YOU DO THIS. I figure that since this is where the cars become the most important you should at least know what they look like so you can appreciate what's going on more. But like I said, it's your choice.

Alright, I'm sure you're all sick of reading by now. I'll have the next chapter up ASAP. See you then.


	22. Only the Beginning

**A/N**

The beginning of the events everybody has been waiting for!

I take back what I said before about this chapter being short. Turns out in order to make this chapter exciting and fast paced it ended up being longer than I anticipated. But I think you'll find it goes fast.

Only other thing I wanna say is just a few descriptions on how I set these chapters up:

**1.** To keep things simple and easy to follow I divided the chapter up into sections, each which focuses on one of the "Teams" as described in earlier chapters. That means if you see **(RED)** at the start of a section that means it will focus on that particular team and their cars.

**2.** As promised each chapter will start with a list of the seven teams, its members, and the cars assigned to each of them. I did this so you would know which cars I'm referring to (as I will use their real and code names), but also so you could look up these cars if you wish. It's my suggestion you plug the car's year, make, and model into an image search engine (I use Google's) just so you know what these cars that we're dealing with look like. Again, you don't have to do this, but to get the full effect of the story, looking at them helps.

**3. **Each chapter I will focus on different scenarios presented to the characters. This time around most of the chapter focuses on the actual stealing of the cars and the process of doing so. So you don't get bored each chapter will focus on different periods of the heists. And since this chapter deals with the initial heists is get A LITTLE technical but nothing all that bad.

All criticisms/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

_**Red Team**_

**Knuckles - 2006 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo - _Salina_  
**

**Julie-Su - 1994 McLaren F1 - _Lauren_  
**

_**Blue Team**_

**Sonic - 2008 SSC Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo - _Aerona_  
**

**Sally - 2007 Koenigsegg CCX - _Kathleen_  
**

_**Yellow Team**_

**Tails - 1994 Jaguar XJ220 - _Josephine_  
**

**Chuck - 1974 Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster - _Jade_  
**

_**Green Team**_

**Manic - 2005 Porsche Carrera GT - _Carrie_  
**

**Antoine - 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster - _McKenzie_  
**

_**Purple Team**_

**Shadow - 2009 Bugatti Veyron ****Fbg par Hermès**** - _Vevila_  
**

**Rouge - 2006 Ford GTX1 - _Ghita_  
**

_**White Team**_

**Silver - 2005 Pagani Zonda F - _Zofia_  
**

**Rotor - 2007 Ascari A10 - _Ashanti _  
**

_**Cyan Team**_

**Sonia - 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 - _Zephyr _  
**

**Bunnie - 2008 Shelby Mustang GT500KR - _Kingsley_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 22** **- The Autokrieg (Part 3) - Only the Beginning  
**

With the light fading fast in the early hours of the night the rest of the city went about its business like any other night. All across the metropolis many were arriving home for the evening or were en route to do so. By this time the infamous rush hour period, known to be especially bad for this city, was only just starting to slow. This worked to the advantage of a certain black squad car belonging to a certain head detective. The Chaotix were going out to their dinner night in celebration of getting the "break" in their case. Vector and Mighty were in the front having a casual conversation while Charmy sat in the right rear snoozing yet again. Ray, however, sat quietly in the left rear, turned away from his teammates and looking out the window as the early nightlife passed him by. Glancing down at his digital watch the numbers struck a note of guilt within him. It was 8:05 P.M. He officially had missed the beginning of the night's operation.**  
**

"Ray? Is everything okay?" Mighty asked.

"HUH! What!" Ray said in surprise, having barely been paying attention.

"You've been awfully quiet. Is something on your mind?"

"Why d-do you ask?"

"Because you've really not been yourself for the past few hours."

"...Yeah, there's something on my mind... But I don't wanna talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Because he's thinking about my daughter," Vector interrupted. "He's just nervous because he wants to impress her tonight so they're little relationship hold up, am I right?"

Ray was frozen. Not only had he completely forgotten that he was going to see the girl he had a crush on tonight, but he also felt like he was being probed by Vector, which given his current state of mind, was asking for trouble. Luckily, Ray kept his cool like Sonic told him to.

"Yeah... you're right. I just hope I don't stutter as much as I usually do."

"Just don't think about it too much. That's what my problem was with Vanilla before I married her. I thought about it too much. When I finally stopped thinking and just went with the flow, well... look what happened."

"Yup. Okay, I'll try not too think too much then."

"I just hope you put enough thought into your gift to her," Vector said with a playful twist.

"Don't worry. I did."

"What did you get, anyway? You never showed us when we stopped for you," Mighty asked.

"Isn't that the point of a secret?"

That was good enough for the two of them. For the moment Ray felt better, knowing he was going to see his crush. Even so, he couldn't help but think about where everybody else was at that point. He was lost in such thoughts as they rounded a corner a entered the long driveway to what was considered the finest restaurants in the entire city.

* * *

**(GREEN)**

In the middle of a street parallel to a large parking lot a man hole cover slowly lifted upwards allowing a pair of brown eyes to just barely see out of them. After making a full rotation around the lid slid off and Manic climbed out onto the street.

"Sacrebleu! Zat was deestgusteeng!" Manic groaned, climbing out of the sewer.

"This coming from somebody working in a refining plant?" he retorted, putting the cover back.

"Eet's better zan walkeeng around een... well, I don't theenk I _want_ to know what eet was zat was down zere."

"You'll live... Alright, coast's clear. Let's move."

Manic and Antoine took crouched positions as they began to move through the lot, using any available shadows and concealed spaces to keep their presence a secret. Keeping low they zig-zagged, bee-lined, and circled around the lot to get to their first assigned vehicle. The two had to come to a sudden stop and take cover behind a large van when a parade of SUV's went driving through one of the parking lanes, nearly blowing their cover.

"Zat was close... How much father, Maneek?"

"I can see the reserved spaces from here. Just two more rows and we're there."

After a bit more careful stealth work the pair reached the reserved section of the lot. Here was were both the most expensive cars were parked as well as those that belonged to the higher staff of the establishment. Taking a quick look around Manic's keen eye spotted the nose of the car they were looking for.

"There she is... _Heeeelloooo_ McKenzie."

After one quick final sprint the two of them reached their target, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster painted in a stunning shade of dark metallic navy blue and silver leather interior. Ducking behind the car for cover the two of them prepared their gear to break into and steal the first vehicle of the night.

"It's amazing that a freaking chef can afford something this nice, huh?" Manic said quietly.

"Well, when your job eez workeeng az zee 'ead chef of zee finest restaurant een town you make eenough for theengs like zis."

"Kinda makes you wonder why, ya know?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, some dude that cooks food makes enough money to afford shit like this, yet many other people work ten times harder and make nothing. Talk about unfair."

"Hmph... Zat's easy for you to say. Zee way you cook would make even zee the rats would, 'ow you say, blow chunks."

"Well up yours too," Manic said with a slight grudge.

"Whatever. You readee?"

"Yeah, let's do th-"

Just as they were about to break around the corner a set of headlights lit up the alleyway. The two retreated back behind the SLR as they listened to a car with a low, growling engine arrive in the spot. Both of their hearts skipped a beat when they heard the voices of who was inside. They easily distinguished Vector's, Mighty's, and Charmy's voices as they exited the car. There was a fourth person but nothing was said from him or her so they didn't know who it was. More frustratingly for them the fourth person seemed to be loitering behind the rest of the group. After what seemed like an eternity but was only less than a minute they heard the person open the trunk of the car and retrieve an item. Not able to wait anymore Manic tried to peak around to see who it was, but when he did one of the many pieces of gear in his pocket rubbed together, making a distinct and audible sound. Ducking back the two could hear footsteps coming. Manic motioned with his head they were on his side. Just inches from the back of the car the feet stopped.

"H-hello? Is... there anybody h-here?" Ray said nervously.

Looking around the little yellow squirrel saw and heard nothing so he turned to leave. Just as he turned, however, he felt a pair of arms and hands grab onto him and pull him behind the blue Mercedes. Every muscle locked inside him as he was pulled down and held to the ground.

"MANIC!" Ray said, muffled through Manic's hand.

"Shhhhhhh," Manic said calmly. "Keep it down."

"Maneek! Zee car!" Antoine whispered loudly.

"I'm on it."

Manic took out the device that could find the signal to disarm and unlock the car. As he went to work doing so on the driver's side Ray sat up, looking to Antoine.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you guys."

"Eet's okay. Better you zan zee cops, yes?"

"Uh-huh... Oh no..."

"What eez eet?"

Ray opened his hands to reveal a crumpled rose. "It was sup-p-p-posed to be a gift for Cream... now it's ruined..."

"Look what you deed!" Antoine barked at Manic. "You scared heem and ruined zee geeft!"

"Chill. I already got a replacement for him."

The device in Manic's hands gave a triumphant beep, having acquired the right signal. Pushing a button the car's light flashed to indicate the alarm was deactivated and with the push of another button the door lock clicked. Pushing the release button the butterfly-style door swung upwards, giving them admittance to the car. Manic reached inside to the passenger seat and, to the surprise of Antoine and Ray, pulled out a bouquet of six dozen roses. Removing a note from the flowers Manic smirked.

"Looks like the head chef here was up to no good recently. This note from his girl basically tells him to fuck off for having cheated with _another_ girl and to stick these flowers up his ass. Guess that means these roses were probably going to go in the trash. How 'bout it, Ray? Wanna give Cream the best present ever?"

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-ut! That doesn't belong to me!" Ray squeaked.

"Neither does this car," Manic pointed out.

"But it's stealing!"

"So is this."

"I 'ate to eenterupt, but we must geet goeeng before we are caught!"

"He's right. Ray, trust me. It'll be okay. Just take these and get goin', alright?"

Hesitantly Ray took the bouquet as Antoine got up and took out a specialized tool that acted like a transponder key. While Antoine worked on getting the car started Manic ran around and got in the passenger side. Ray did as he was told and hurried away so as to not draw attention.

"Got eet. We can be goeeng now."

"Cool. But lets put the top down first."

"No. Not 'ere. Eet's too reeskee."

"Oh, come on! Where's your sense of-"

"_No_. Now let's geet out of 'ere," Antoine insisted, pulling his door shut.

"Fine," Manic whined, doing the same.

Just as Ray reached the pathway leading to the entrance he heard a powerful engine start behind him and immediately pull away. Looking over his shoulder he spotted the same SLR pull out from its parking spot and head towards him. Antoine flicked the headlights really quickly in a form of a "wave goodbye" then turned off into an exit lane and out to a side street. He listened as the SLR's supercharged eight cylinder engine thrusted them away in the first successful heist of the night. Looking down at the flowers, then back up in the direct the car had just gone, Ray managed to smile just a little bit.

"Good luck guys."

* * *

**(RED)**

_"Zis girl McKenzie eez comeeng home weeth me for a good time."_

Julie-Su heard this encrypted announcement through her communicator while at a location just on the outskirts of the suburbs. It was a relief to hear that at only 8:10 P.M. another team had gotten a vehicle. However, they weren't the only ones who'd succeeded. Just minutes ago in a nearby block Julie and Knuckles had first gotten a Silver McLaren F1. That job had been easy since the car was parked in the driveway and nobody was home. All they did was break into it and roll it down the driveway without starting it.

From there the two had made their way to a residence just down the road. Knuckles had gone in for the other car a few minutes ago. Julie was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong when she heard Knuckles' grunts behind her. The plan had originally been for him to break into the car quietly at the house then push it out to the perimeter fence where Julie would open the entrance gate to the small mansion's driveway and they would escape. Apparently, however, Knuckles had come up with an alternate plan. Just over the top of the wall around the property she could see the nose of red Saleen S7 Twin Turbo they'd come for bobbing along. Looking through a carved arch in the wall Julie could see Knuckles was using his gift of strength to hoist the front of the vehicle over his head, basically turning himself into a living tow truck. Rushing over the the gate Julie forced it open and allowed Knuckles out.

"Help me set this down," he said normally.

"Are you out of your damn mind!" Julie half-yelled. "Don't you think it would look just a bit suspicious carrying a damn car over your head down a driveway!"

"I didn't have a choice," he informed her, the car now on the ground. "It was parked outside and there were people in the room right next to it. It took long enough just to get the alarm off. I didn't want to be standing around any longer and have somebody see me trying to break in."

"But the house is dark! If there's people in there, what were they doing?"

Knuckles grinned widely and pulled his arms back and forth while moving his hips in a similar motion. Julie only rolled her eyes and face-palmed her face. With the alarm already taken care of Knuckles began searching for the correct signal to get the door unlocked.

"_Please_ tell me you weren't watching them."

"What? Hell no! _Although_ it sounded like two young, horny teens were at it, so-"

"Spare me the details. I just hope they don't hear us leave."

"They won't. They had some corny porno music on full blast."

"Details, Knux. _Details_."

"Hey, you asked. I can't not tell you and tell you something at the same time. Make up your mind."

"Just get the door open and let's get out of here."

"Hold on... Almost got it... Bingo!"

With a satisfying click the door was unlocked and Knuckles entered via the car's butterfly doors. Julie ran to "Lauren" and worked on getting her go ready to go. Moments later Knuckles had the proper signal from the fake transponder key and with a twist of his wrist brought the Saleen's seven liter V8 engine to life. Julie followed close behind and got her car's V12 engine started too. The sound of the two vehicles was much louder than the two had anticipated, making them realize time was of the essence. Pulling the door shut Knuckles shifted into first and went to pull away, but just as quickly he stalled the engine, the car jerking to a sudden halt.

"Whoops! Guess I'm a little rusty at this whole shifting thing."

_"Come on, Knuckles! Get the lead out!"_ she shouted over the communicator.

Starting the engine again they tried to leave, but for the second time the red echidna stalled the engine. He tried again and for the third time stalled the engine. By this point they were surely making a scene and Julie was getting quite irritated.

_"Dammit, Knuckles! Let the clutch out slower!"_

"I told you I was rusty at this!"

_"Maybe you should have practiced more! It's not the hardest thing in the world, you know!"_

"Well what do you want me to do! We live on a fucking island that hovers in the air! Where the hell am I gonna practice driving up there!"

_"LET'S JUST THE HELL OUTTA HERE BEFORE THE COPS SHOW UP!"_

Before things proceeded further Knuckles tried again and finally got the car moving. Even so his driving and shifting was rough. The car lurched to and fro, back and froth down the road as Knuckles was a bit heavy-footed on all three pedals. A combination of clumsy clutch operation and lead-footing the gas and brake pedals was going to make the trip to Julie's vehicle an unpleasant one. And as if he wasn't already busy enough trying to keep the ultra-powerful under control, Knuckles raised his communicator up to announce their success in acquiring another vehicle.

"If anybody's interested, I just met a girl named Salina. She'll give you a good ride, if ya know what I mean."

"Yeah, and her sister Lauren will follow her where ever she goes," Julie added.

* * *

**(PURPLE)**

Back in town many were going about their nightly routines without a care otherwise. It was this tendency that a certain pairing of Mobians were counting on. Rouge and Shadow had taken up a hidden vantage point on top of the Casinopolis Casino where just the other day "Vevila" had been spotted. After doing a bit of research it had been discovered that the owner of that car was a regular at Casinopolis and was known for showing at at very specific times so as to increase chances of winning due to shift changes and crowd numbers. Though they'd been waiting for a few minutes now they had a feeling their target was coming soon as an entourage of valet attendants had suddenly gathered down below.

"Shadow, look..." Rouge whispered.

"I see it."

"You think it's for ours?"

"Has to be."

Looking up the long street leading to the casino a new pair of headlights was approaching. Upon entering the light from the casino Shadow spotted the special edition Bugatti Veyron they'd come for. Leaning over just far enough to keep an eye on things the extra valets were in fact there because the driver had brought a few pieces of luggage to stay at the casino for a period. That meant the car would be parked in the furthest spaces from the building. Even so, the car would be in view of quite a lot of people. They were going to need a diversion to get away with the heist, and Shadow already had a plan.

"It's going into the over-night spaces... _perfect_."

"Will your plan still work?"

"I'd say this is best case scenario, given the circumstances."

"I just hope I can do this. I've never tried this before, you know."

"Don't worry. Your car has more than enough power to do what we need it to. Just do as I explained and you'll be fine."

"Okay. I trust your word."

"Good. Let's move."

Using the cover of shadows and any roof-top structures they could the two crossed from Casinopolis to other nearby structures with Shadow using his hover skates to make the leaps between building while Rouge glided with her wings. A block of two down the street they reached an alleyway where down below was a Valencia Orange with gray stripes Ford GTX1 that Rouge had stolen before they'd come here. It was at this alley the two would split ways for their plan.

"I'm going down," Shadow said quietly, mounting the top of a set of fire-escape stairs.

"Good luck, Shad."

"...Thanks. You too."

The hedgehog slowly began to descend the stairs as Rouge dove down into the alleyway and got inside "Ghita." Since her faux transponder key was already programmed for the car all she had to do was turn the key and push the start button. Shifting into first gear she slowly nudged the car out of the alleyway and out onto the main street. Glancing up onto the fire escape stairs she could just see Shadow using his code finder to disarm and unlock the Veyron from above. To give Shadow as much time as possible she kept he speed to practically a crawl until she got to Casinopolis. Peeking into the review mirror she caught a glimpse of the "Victoria's" headlights flashing, meaning it was time for their plan.

_"Here we go..."_ she thought to herself.

Just reaching the point at which the road widened for the entrance lane of the casino Rouge slammed the throttle to the floor and wrenched the steering wheel hard to the left, spinning the car completely around to face the opposite direction. She revved the engine once or twice to get everybody's attention, which she easily got, especially from the younger gamblers present. Knowing this was as good as things would get she shifted into first again pressed the gas down just enough to get the car moving, then applied some break. The brakes gripped and stopped the car, but the rear wheels were still spinning. At that point she knew she'd gotten the beginning of a "brake-stand" burn out right and pushed the gas down even harder, which naturally caught the attention of everybody in the area.

Down the block Shadow had leapt from his perch on the stairs to the ground as the smoke from the tires of Rouge's vehicle created a smokescreen and the car's exhaust note provided even more cover. Not wanting to waste a second or chance getting seen, Shadow stealthily got into "Victoria" through the passenger door and then slid over to the driver's seat. Once again using the fake key he got the right signal and with a press of the start button brought the Veyron's mammoth W16 quad-turbocharged engine into action. Not even thinking about hesitating Shadow put the transmission into drive and sped away without the headlights on.

Back down the block the smoke from the spinning tires had clouded the entire area, but Rouge could see what looked like security coming out of the casino. Having seen Shadow drive away she released the brake and peeled away form the scene, the car's power slamming her deep into its leather seats. Knowing their pre-planned escape route Rouge rounded a nearby corner but found that Shadow wasn't there. Rounding another nearby turn she still didn't see her teammate. Just as her nerves were starting to get to her she came around another bend and saw a set of dual circular tail lights up ahead. Pulling up to Shadow she tooted the horn and he too began moving again.

_"Didn't I tell you you could do it?"_

"When you're right, you're right I guess. But what happened to you? I was starting to get worried."

_"Nothing happened. Why do you ask?"_

"Because I expected to come around the corner and see you, not have to travel a few blocks before we caught up again."

_"Oh... Well, let's just say that this car's power caught me off guard."_

"You? Off guard? Please!"

_"Don't believe me? Watch."_

Next to her the Veyron's engine released it's growl and within about three seconds was already several car-lengths ahead. Although he couldn't see it from inside his car, Rouge's eyebrow cocked up in amazement at the vehicle's performance.

"See?"

_"I retract my previous statement."_

"I thought you would."

_"Ya know what else? That car suits you perfectly. Color, design, speed and all."_

Shadow didn't answer since he knew she'd said it to tease. Dialing in the ground frequency, Shadow announced "Vevila and her distant relation Ghita are on the road to a new life."

As serious as an individual that Shadow was, there was something somewhere inside of him that wanted to make him act against his nature. With a slight grin Shadow slammed the accelerator to the floor and gained an appreciation for what it felt like to have just over a thousand horse power and over one G of torque could do. The sensations that he felt as he reached a hundred and fifty miles per hour in just over ten seconds made him feel, as unfit as such as an adjective was for him, like a little kid. With a huge grin across his face as he touched the brakes and the car's air brake rose to help him slow down, a single sentence escaped his mouth.

"I have _got_ to get me one of _these_."

* * *

**(YELLOW)**

In the middle of the city sat a Jaguar dealership that was known not only for its service but also the mini-museum that was attached to it. In that area was a small showroom that contained perfect examples of some of the company's most important and ground-breaking vehicles ever produced. Those cars were occasionally driven on photo-shoots and then maintenanced at the dealership's garage. By chance "Josephine" and "Jade" were inside that garage from a photo-shoot earlier in the day, a fact that a certain two-tailed fox and elderly hedgehog were already well aware of.

The first thing the two had done when they'd arrived on site was disable and/or immobilize the garage's alarms systems so that when they were done they could leave immediately. With that task done Tails flew himself and Chuck up to he roof of the garage and pried open one of the large vent windows, then they slowly hovered down to the ground amongst the garage setting.

"Nice place they got here..." Tails said quietly.

"Yeah... Lotsa nice tools and equipment. And the cars, of course."

"Makes ya kinda feel bad about doin' what we're doin', ya know?"

"Well yeah, but... if we don't do it, you know what'll happen."

"I hear ya."

With no further talking the two set out looking for their assigned vehicles. "Jade," a British racing green E-type, was easy to find since she was sitting in the "waiting" bay. The XJ220, on the other hand, was sitting on a raised lift in the back of the garage, all four of its wheels removed but lying nearby. Chuck knew that since "Jade" was an antique vehicle the only way he could get it running was to hot-wire it so he looked around the shop for some wire and electrical tape. Meanwhile, Tails activated the hydraulic system for the lift and the air system for the air gun to bolt the wheels back on.

Since Chuck didn't have as much prep-work he got to his car first. The first thing he needed was to get inside. Thinking that a museum car wouldn't be fitted with an alarm Chuck guided the slim-jim pick he had inside the window and down to the door lock plunger. Easily hooking the plunger he slowly pulled up on the slim-jim, praying for no alarm. With a slight jolt the door unlocked and he pulled the door handle. There was nothing but silence, save for the sounds of Tails scurrying about. Knowing he was in the clear Chuck set about the process to hot-wire the E-Type. The first thing Chuck did was wedge he flat-head screwdriver into the top center of the steering wheel and after a bit of jiggling he disengaged the steering lock. He then popped the hood and opened it fully. Taking some wire he'd taken from the shop he stripped some of the wire's lining away and connected it from the positive terminal on the battery to the ignition coil wire. However, he realized to complete the procedure he had to get under the car so he went to go get a car jack.

Meanwhile, Tails had just finished lowering the car lift so that it was low enough to work on easily but also just high enough to get the wheels on. Swiftly rolling the wheels over and draping the air gun over his shoulder, Tails quickly installed the driver's side tires. He then quickly ran to the other side and installed the other two. With that task complete he lowered the car the last two feet to the ground and disengaged the hydraulic and air systems. His next thought was to try and unlock the door, but something inside his mind said to try the door. To his surprise it was unlocked. That meant all he had to do was use the faux transponder key and "Josephine" was theirs. Looking over Chuck had the front end of the E-Type raised on a jack and was crawling under the engine compartment.

"Chuck, how you doin?" Tails said in a loud whisper.

"Almost done... you?"

"Same."

"Okay. You get ready. We've been here a while so we gotta move."

Tails wasted no time hopping into the silver XJ220 and begin letting the fake key do its job. Mean, Chuck had located the starter solenoid, the final step of hot wiring. Taking out a pair of pliers from his thief tool kit all he had to do was touch the tips of the tool to the dual connection points of the solenoid and the car would start. Glancing out from under the car Tails gave a thumbs up. Nodding in response, Chuck touched the pliers to the solenoid and the E-Type's V12 came to life. Moving out from underneath the car quickly the elder hedgehog let the jack out quickly and shoved it aside. As he ran for a switch on the wall to open one of the doors he could hear Tails start the XJ220's V6. Throwing the switch the door began creeping upward. Knowing they were short on time Chuck motioned for Tails to go, which he did. Then, in a quick move Chuck reversed the switch to close the door and bolted for "Jade." He drove out under the door with only a foot of space left. Peering into his review, Tails saw Chuck flash his headlights, meaning they were in the clear. The difficult heist was a complete success.

"If anybody's interested, two girls named Jade and Josephine just hit the streets and asked us to take them home," the fox announced into his communicator.

* * *

**(BLUE)**

"Sounds pretty kinky. What are they gonna do to ya when you get em home?" Sonic joked into his communicator.

_"Why don't you ask them?"_ Tails responded.

"Shhhhhhhh! Did you forget where we are, Sonic?" Sally said quietly but forcefully.

"Right... I'll have to take a rain check on that one."

The fox's laughter echoed slightly throughout the air ducts that Sonic and Sally were currently crawling their way through with only the small flash lights to show them the way. It was all part of the process needed to break into a parking complex that was part of one of the many high-rise office buildings in the city. The problem was that this particular garage was not only underground, but also directly underneath the structure. However, Sally had spotted their way in right off the bat. She'd noticed that the building's climate control system had ventilation ducts that ran directly into the garage, thus bypassing any of the building's security personnel/systems. For the most part this plan had seemed to be working quite well. However, as they were nearing the final pathway that lead into the garage the pair noticed something. Not only did the air speed seem to be increasing, but also there was a loud mechanical roar that was echoing up the vents. Sally reached for her supercomputer NICOLE to seem if she could pull up the building's design to get the answer they needed.

"NICOLE, access the schematics for this structure" she said in a raised voice over the noise.

_"Accessing, Sally... Downloading blue prints for structural design and all related internal systems."_

The mini super-computer's hologram lamp lit up and displayed images of the building and its various systems. Typing away at the keypad Sally concentrated on the climate control and ventilation systems. Finally bringing up the part of the ducting they were in they made an unexpected and unwanted discovery.

"Shit!"

"What's up, Sal?"

"You see these?" she answered, pointing to a part of the hologram. "These are ventilation fans that help pull air in and out of the underground garage. The duct were in now is gonna take us right into one of them. Even worse, the fan blades are just barely wide enough for us to fit through so it'll be slow-going. And as if that didn't complicate things enough, they're are covered by grates locked form the outside."

"Isn't there any other ducting that goes into the garage?"

"There is, but it's too small for us to go through. The fans is the only way in or out."

"Hmm... NICOLE, what can you tell us about the fans?" Sonic asked.

_"The fans act as circulation systems to keep the temperature and air levels at the correct levels in the garage. However, due to their high rate of use there is an intricate programming system that shuts down groups of them every fifteen minutes to allow them to cool."_

"How long do the cooling periods last?" Sally asked.

_"Depending on the temperature of the fan motor the shut down period can last up to a maximum of five minutes and a minimum of one minute."_

"That's not a whole lotta time, Sal."

"I know... NICOLE, is there any possibility of disabling one of the fans to allow more time for us to pass?"

_"No, Sally. If any one of the fans fails an alarm within the building is triggered and a repair crew will be sent to investigate."_

Sally rubbed her forehead in frustration, knowing what this all meant. "When does the next break occur for the fan in this duct?"

_"The break will occur at exactly 8:30 P.M."_

"That's three minutes from now" Sonic pointed out.

Sally nodded and motioned for Sonic to follow. Staying close behind her the two finally saw a light ahead, meaning the duct up to the fan was near. They also realized how loud it was for their ears with throbbing from the sounds reverberating around them. Dropping into the main shaft they were met by a fast-moving wind hitting them in the face as this fan was one that pulled air out of the garage. Knowing it was way too loud to speak, Sonic held up three fingers, then a fist, indicating that it was thirty seconds until the fan stopped. The two had to close their eyes and turn their heads while covering their ears just to make it barely tolerable. Finally the break in the fan came and it powered down. Rushing forward the two came up behind the blade and waited for it to slow enough so that they could help slow it down by hand. That alone took nearly a minute and, according to NICOLE, they had four minutes left.

"I'm going for the lock," Sally announced.

"Just make it mondo-fast or we're gonna end up like chopped suey."

"Thanks for reminding me."

Sally took her a few tools from the basic thief kit Manic had distributed to set up getting themselves out. Weaving her body in between the fan blades Sally got her head and upper half of her torso threw. She then threaded her arms through the cross-beamed grates, lock pick in hand, down to the lock. It was difficult work considering that she could barely see and reach the lock she was trying to pick, let alone that she was a bit rusty in lock picking for having not done so since the war. Meanwhile Sonic was keeping track of time. Normally he'd crack a joke about taking too much time, but given the dire circumstances he chose not to. Instead, he kept a careful eye on the time, calling out the time left. The situation grew desperate when they reached ninety seconds left and still the lock hadn't been picked.

"Sal, we really gotta speed this up. We got less than a minute and a half here."

"Hmph... pressure. I eat it for breakfast," she joked.

"Seriously, we gotta get this done _now_."

"Getting a bit worked up, aren't we? Just hang on. I almost got... In fact I think I got..."

With a slight click the lock dropped open and Sally unlatched it. Unfortunately due to her angle she couldn't get out right away so she had to come back in.

"You go first, Sonic. I can get through quicker."

"Alright if you say so."

It was quite a task for Sonic to fit through the thin space between the blades, especially for his quills which Sally had to help thread through. Finally mostly through sonic pushed the heavy grate open enough and got his feet on the ground.

"Alright Sal, you're turn."

Sally began to weave herself through as well. Although at first it was easy for her, the lower her of her body, especially her hips, proved to be problematic in getting through. Slowly she wormed her way back and forth to get through. But just as she was about to be free Sonic's communicator began beeping, for he'd set an alarm to say when they had fifteen seconds left.

"Shit! Come one Sal, move it!"

With a strong push she tried to get her hips through, but her swiftness got her jacket caught on one of the blades. She frantically began struggling and pulling to get through, but to no avail. Knowing she was in deep trouble Sonic took hold of her arms and tugged with all his a final jerk of his body Sonic helped pull off the snag brought her though not but a second before the fan's motor kicked back on. The two collapsed to the floor on top of one another, the large grate slamming shut behind them.

"Phew! That was close!"

"_Too_ close."

"It took you forever to get through there. Since when'd your ass get so big, Sal?"

"It might have a big ass, but at least I don't have a big head."

"Mmph... _Touché_."

"Thanks. Alright, let's get moving."

Getting to their feet the duo took to moving swiftly and quietly against the walls and support pillars of the complex, working their way towards the projected location of where their target was. Sure enough they rounded a corner where they found a sign stating "Reserved Parking: Executives," where they spotted a Silver Koenigsegg CCX with equally attractive magnesium-alloy five-spoke rims.

"That's her," Sonic pointed out.

"She's mine."

Once again relying upon the remote that could decipher alarm and locking frequencies, Sally was able to unlock the car from across the garage. Seeing the car's lights flash told them they were in the clear. However, there were quite a few video cameras situated in the area, so they would have to be quick in case anybody was watching. Staying a close to the walls and shadows as much as possible the two made their way over to the CCX and ducked inside it. Once inside they pulled the strangely-constructed doors shut, a point that intrigued the hedgehog.

"Man, what kinda doors does this thing have? Never seen them move up and out at the same time before."

_"This vehicle is equipped with dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors to allow for occupants to have easy access and parking," NICOLE chimed in._

"Oh, talking to me again, eh NICOLE?"

_"Yup. After that mondo-cool move that saved Sally I figured I owed you as much as her. So kudos to you, my main hedgehog."_

Sonic laughed as Sally face-palmed at her computer's "human side" being revived. "Just when I thought she'd stopped acting that way... NICOLE, give me the start up procedure for this vehicle."

"Yes, Sally. In order for the vehicle to start the battery disconnect switch must be attached and armed, then the main power button must be pressed to allow activation of the ignition button. Once this is complete the power button must be pressed again, followed by the start button to activate the engine."

"What is this? A friggin' space ship?" Sonic said sarcastically.

_"No, it's a Swedish-made super car, you big dummy," NICOLE remarked._

"Hmph. A computer with an attitude. Nice."

"Uhh, Sonic? None of these buttons are working."

The space-age looking center console with its circular series of buttons was indeed non-functioning. Remember the kill switch NICOLE had mentioned Sonic found a small peg that seemed to be missing a top. Realizing that this was probably the kill switch and that they key to it was not in the car, Sonic took out the kill-switch by-pass device Tails had created. After trying a few different mounts for it he got the device attached to the peg and turned the peg to on.

"I sure hope this works," Sally murmured.

"It will. Tails knows his stuff."

Pushing the power button down with one finger, Sally then pushed the ignition button. A low buzzer sounded a the electrical systems activated. With her hope high Sally then reached over and pressed the start button. They were answered by a quick whirring chirp followed by a low purr from the CCX's twin supercharged V8. Glancing up she saw Sonic wink and gave her a thumbs up.

"Told ya."

Pulling away from the parking spot they drove their way up to the exit where, once again, an unforeseen problem lay ahead of them. A double-armed, reinforced arm blocked the exit. They only apparent way out was by swiping a key card through a small outpost near the arm. But no sooner had this problem come up when Sonic solved. The card they needed had been conveniently left behind on the dashboard.

"Looking for this?"

"Are you serious?" she said, taking the card.

"Guess the owner thought that nobody would be stupid enough to steal a car without the kill switch key."

"Or _smart_ enough."

"_Touché_. Again."

With a swipe of the card the massive arm receded. Shifting into first they drove out of the garage and up the exit ramp at a cautious speed, making sure that there wasn't anybody else around that might see them. Reaching the street above they were met by nothing but isolation.

"Looks like we're good. I'll tell the rest of the gang."

But just as Sonic went to bring his communicator up to his mouth, Sally slammed on the gas and they fish-tailed onto and down the street away from the complex. The sudden and unexpected acceleration from the eight hundred horsepower engine's six-hundred and ninety foot-pounds of torque slammed Sonic back into his seat. Next to him Sally looked like a street-racer as she had her left arm and hand held tight on the wheel while her right hand never let go of the shifter. After a quarter mile and reaching of triple-digit speed she slammed on the brakes to stop for a red light.

"Holy shit, Sal! Where'd that come from!"

"You mean you don't know?"

"Uhh... no."

"You and me only fought side-by-side for the whole war. I guess I kinda developed a liking for high-speed performance."

"Well damn! Nice to know I left one good lasting effect on ya. If that was any indication of the kinda driving you can do we just might beat the whole group back."

"Speaking of the group, NICOLE, give me the group channel."

"Accessing, Sally."

Since NICOLE was so advanced she could access the radio frequency that the rest of the team's communicators worked on. With the frequency dialed in Sally held down a button on the side of NICOLE and announced to the rest of the team the good news.

"A word of warning. This girl Kathleen will try to tear you to shreds if you mess with her on her way home. Be careful."

* * *

**(CYAN)**

By now many of the teams had at least one car and quite a few had two. However, many of the members that had both cars still have to make their way back down to the docks. Such was the case for Sonia and Bunnie, who had effortlessly managed to boost "Zephyr" and "Kingsley" respectively. The Corvette and Mustang were heading inbound on Route 280, currently slightly delayed due to the last bits of traffic still prowling the super highways running through the city and suburbs. Inside the painfully bright yellow Corvette Sonia rumpled her nose and lips in disgust at their slowed pace.

"This traffic is as grody as the color of this car!" she shouted out of frustration into the car.

_"Y'all right over theah, sugah?"_ Bunnie asked through the communicator.

"I'm just sick of going slow! We've been behind this same group of cars since we got on here! All I want to do is go fast and get out of here!"

_"I didn't pictuah you as the fast-drivin' type."_

"I share blood with my brother, you know. I may not have his gift, but it doesn't mean I don't like feeling the breeze in my hair. And coming from me, that's saying something."

A little ways behind her Bunnie pondered the hedgehog's desires. Looking out the windshield of her silver with blue stripes Mustang she could see that the pack of cars they trailed was fairly thick, therefore an idea she had wouldn't work. However, looking at the passing roadsigns they were about to pass an interchange for Route 101.

"Hey sugah, why don't we mosey our way ovah to the othah route? It might be a bit moah free-flowin'."

_"Gladly. Anything's gotta be better than this."_

Making their way over they exited Route 280 and entered a road purposely designed to be a direct route to Route 101. Since the two highways ran close to each other as they approached the city it only took a few minutes to get to the other highway. Round the curved on ramp they were met, much to Sonia's extreme distaste, with a larger pack of cars and semi-trucks blocking all lanes, even the high-speed lane. Glancing over Bunnie could see Sonia huff and roll her eyes.

_"Well, it was your bright idea that we come over here. Now what?"_ she snapped.

Bunnie's decision to switch routes was quickly backfiring on her. Looking around desperately for a way to get out of the traffic and into the clear she spotted a potential route. Just ahead of a slow car in the fast lane were two semi-trucks that were hauling lumber logs. Taking a good look at the trailers she noticed that the distance beneath it as well as the it's length were more so than usual to accommodate the lumber. Although it was an incredibly risky plan, Bunnie's strong instinct told her it would work.

"Okay sugah, I got a plan. You listenin'?"

_"All ears."_

"Good. Y'all see those two loggah trucks in front of us?"

_"The what!"_

"Loggah trucks."

_"Logga trucks? Like, what the hell is that?"_

"The trucks with the the wood on them!"

_"Oh! Yeah yeah, what about them?"_

"See how high the logs are on them?"

There was a long pause. _"Are you like... No, I take that back. You're crazy, Bunnie!"_

"Maybe so, but ah'm gonna do it. If you don't wanna, then you can keep enjoyin' this heah traffic."

Bunnie positioned her car to the right and slightly behind the lead lumber truck. With a grunt of frustration, Sonic did the same behind the trailing truck. Her frustration quickly changed to far, however, as the sight of the truck's huge spinning wheels and the thought of getting caught under and/or getting crushed the the trailed weighted heavy on her mind.

"On my count, hit the gas and turn as quickly as you can to get going forward and to the side enough to get on the other side into the fast lane. You gottah get it right because if you don't turn or speed up enough or don't do it enough, well..."

_"Yeah, I get it. This better work."_

"It will, sugah. Trust me. Okay, on my count... three... two... one... GO!"

It looked like something out of a movie but somehow it worked. The two cars shot forwards and over, passing directly below and in-between the trailers and into the fast lane. Naturally this move didn't go unnoticed by the truck drivers who blasted their truck horns in anger.

"Come on sugah, let's gote outtah heah!"

With a quick downshift of both cars and a slam of the gas pedals the two cars rocketed away from the scene before they could be identified. After breaking the triple-digit-speed level and having gotten about a quarter mile away Bunnie began to let up but Sonia, still a bit freaked out at what they'd just done, swerved around her and continued on, her speed still increasing.

"Sonia-girl, where ya goin'!"

_"DO I EVEN NEED TO ANSWER THAT! LIKE, OH MY GOD! I JUST DROVE UNDER A TRUCK! I COULDA, NO, SHOULDA BEEN KILLED! THE FURTHER I STAY AWAY FROM YOU, THE LONGER I'LL STAY ALIVE!"_

Bunnie was a bit hurt by Sonia's comment, so much so that she didn't respond. The only thing she did do was speed up as well so she could keep up her teammate, although at this point how much of a team they were on was in question.

Little did they know, however, that they were quickly approaching another pair of their own team.

* * *

**(WHITE)**

Jogging along on Route 101 Silver and Rotor were making decent time. Silver had struck first when they'd acquired "Zofia." Things got a little complicated after that since Rotor's target, "Ashanti," was not originally where they had thought it would be. However, a quick bit of research on his MARIA communicator revealed a few possible locations where that car could be. They ended up checking all six possible places, but fortunately it was in the final possible destination. Unfortunately, that final place was on the far side of the city, the complete opposite of where they'd started looking. The search had cost them a lot of time, so to try and make up for it they abandoned their plan to stick to free-flowing city streets and instead took to Route 101. This plan made Rotor very nervous, given the incredibly conspicuous vehicles they were driving. Silver, however, couldn't be happier to be on such a large open road in the car he was driving.

"I am so diggin' this right now," Silver said coolly, resting in the seat with on hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter. "I don't know about you, but I'd never get tired of this."

_"If we were under better circumstances I'd agree."_

"Oh come on, will ya? Lighten up a little! Everything's cool."

_"Not with how much time we lost."_

"Well if you're so worried about being late, why don't you go faster?"

_"Because I don't want to get caught or draw too much attention to ourselves."_

"How would we do that? I thought this highway didn't have speed limits."

With a heavy sigh, Rotor responded with _"Because the thing you're in looks like it's outta a sci-fi movie and mine's bright yellow!"_

"Point being?"

_"I'm covering for us! Until I see a reason for us to go any faster than we are we're gonna take it easy."_

As if on cue Team Cyan had finally caught up with them. Sonia still had her foot hard on the pedal and rocketed by at nearly one-hundred and eighty miles per hour and a few seconds afterwards Bunnie shot by at a slightly lower but still frighteningly fast speed. Since both Rotor and Silver were both traveling in the lane next to the high-speed lane they were right next to the two cars when they passed. The air pressure that came off both cars actually caused a bump that both members of Team White felt inside their cars. However, the most amazing thing of all was that no sooner had the two of them caught a glimpse of the two cars that passed than all they could see was a small pair of headlights fading into the distance.

"WOAH! Did you see that!"

_"See it? I felt it!"_

"I know, but did you see who that was?"

_"Uhh... no."_

"Man, no wonder you wear glasses. You can't see anything!"

_"They were going double our speeds, thank you very much."_

"Alright, I'll give ya that. But I still saw who it was. It was our girls in cyan, and I say they've got the right idea."

_"Somehow I knew you'd say that, but if you wanna go fast, fine. Let's do it."_

"Sweet! Later, pal!"

Although he'd been using his psykokinesis powers so far to shift as a result of being lazy, this time Silver actually used his hand to downshift and then slammed the gas down. His Zonda F responded by jutting it's nose upward and pushing his back into his seat as he pulled into the high-speed lane. Shifting into a higher gear Silver chuckled at the amazing performance his car had. Glancing down at the illuminated gauge cluster he saw he'd already hit 130 MPH. His giddiness, however, was short lived when Rotor suddenly shot around him in the Ascari A10 he was driving and continued to pull away.

"What the! How are you going faster!"

_"Because my car's faster than yours."_

"How can that be? Look at this thing!"

_"You can't be ignorant of the stats. They are what they are. But who cars, right? Come on, this is proving to be worth it!"_

Silver was a bit bummed that his car was more of a looker than a performer. However, he quickly forgot about that after Rotor's last comment. Although he knew full well that his teammate meant nothing by it, it still struck home with him. It was a lot like something Blaze would say when he was being naive. The pang inside his soul made Silver forget all about going fast and pulled out of the fast lane and slowed down, trying to shake the wave of depression that had just come over him.

"Yo, Silver! What's up?"

"...Nothing... Let's just take it easy... like you said."

"After all that you're just gonna chill?"

"...Yeah..."

"Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I'm easy."

Rotor, of course, had no idea of the troubles that were on his teammate's mind. However, both of them were even more unaware of the problem another team was having.

* * *

**(GREEN)**

"I can not believe zis! Eet's been almost fortee meenutes and we are steell on our first car!"

"Don't worry about it. I got a plan."

"Zat's what you've been sayeeng zee 'hole time! I'm starteeng to wonder eef you eeven 'ave a plan!"

"Chill. I do."

"I am hopeeng so."

It was indeed true. After their quick success in heisting the SLR they'd hit a long run of problems. Manic was to steal a Porsche Carerra GT, and fortunately their research had turned up quite a few in the city. However, for a multitude of reasons, ranging from cars not being where they were supposed to be, to being in too risky a situation, and even the most recent attempt having been torched, they'd yet to find a car they could steal. However, Manic said there was one more option which they were currently en route to. Shortly after they rounded a corner and Antoine slammed on the breaks in the middle of the road.

"No Maneek..."

"What?"

"I don't t'eenk so. Zere 'as to be another option."

"I hate to break it to you, but... this is the last option."

Looking out of the windshield Antoine couldn't believe that this early in the night it had come to this. "I can't beleeve zis... of all zee places zat we could geet a car from... zee POLEECE EEMPOUND!"

"Yup."

"Are you sure zere eezen't another-"

"Nope. Unless you want to try and tell Robotnik why we could only come up with 99 cars instead of a hundred, we gotta get this one."

"..._Merde_..."

Manic instructed Antoine to go a few blocks away where they had a decent view of the compound. Once they'd picked out a good waiting spot Manic began typing away furiously at his communicator's keypad.

"So what's zee plan?"

"It's simple. See, you're right about the main lot being crazy to break into. Way too many guards and way too much security. But, there's an easier place to get car from."

"And where's zat?"

"Well, you know how every so often the police impound auctions off some of the old cars that have been sitting around for a while?"

"Oui, oui. I do."

"I did a bit of research and found out this place is going to have one every day for the next few days. That means they're going to have trucks come in and move the cars up for auction to the nearby auction lot where there's much less security. So what I'm doing is hacking into the system and making it look like the Porsche Carerra GT they have here is supposed to go to the auction spot."

"Zat sounds like a neet plan, but... do you theenk zey weell take zee cake?"

"Bait, dude. And yes, they'll take it. Remember who you're talking to here."

No sooner had Manic finished say that when a parade of half-a-dozen S.S.P.D. police two trucks went down the street and into the impound. At that point Manic entered the false request for the Porsche to be moved and could only hope it would work. It took a few minutes, but finally the six trucks came back out, each carrying one car on its flatbed and another of the two rig behind it. Finally the last truck came out with the Carerra GT towed behind it. However, it was stopped by the guard at the entrance gate.

"Shit..." Manic whispered.

"What should we do?"

"...Pray, I guess..."

It was a tense moment, but finally, and from the looks of it reluctantly, the guard let the truck go. Two two pursued the towing party from a few blocks away until they dropped off their cargo at the auction lot. Once the trucks were gone Manic instructed Antoine to stay close but out of sight and to keep the engine running. He also undid the latch for the convertible top and lowered it.

"Why deed you do zat?"

"In case I gotta make a quick exit without the car."

"You are not soundeeng too confeedeent about zis."

"I said this place had less security, not a lack thereof."

"Zen 'ow 'bout I 'elp you?"

"No dude, too risky"

"Eef you say so..." Antoine said, feeling a bit rejected.

"Trust me, I ain't appy about this, but it's either this car or bust... And if something goes wrong and I can't get away you get the hell outta here as fast as you can, got it?"

Antoine nodded in agreement. "Bonne chance, Maneek."

He watched as his partner and fellow person-in-deep-trouble-thanks-to-Robotnik jog down the street and carefully climb over the yard's perimeter fence. Just as he landed Manic took out his parking boot disassembling tool that Rotor had crafted and wandered out of sight into the yard.

"Mon dieu... I weesh zis fuckeeng night was over..." the coyote sighed, rubbing his head from a growing headache from the stress.

* * *

**(BLUE)**

At right about the same time Sonic and Sally were speeding down Route 280 through the city. By now Sonic had acquired his vehicle "Aerona," a black and blue two-tone Ultimate Aero TT. They'd found it on a far side of the city, but that wasn't a big issue. The CCX Sally was driving was already fast enough, but Sonic was in fact driving the fastest production car in the world. The first time he'd floored the gas pedal on the route reaffirmed this fact. Every time he throttled up he not only got the closest experience he could get from a car as when he was running, but he also irritated the hell out of Sally who, despite having a very fast car, still couldn't keep up.

_"Dammit, Sonic! Slow down a little, would ya!"_

"Why don't you speed up a little?"

_"Because we're driving cars that we can't afford to bang up!"_

_"Right, we can't **bang** them up, but we can **speed** them up, right?"_

"Technically, yes. But-"

"Then I don't know about you, but I'm gonna enjoy some torque."

A quick down shift and a slam of the gas pedal and the fastest car in the world sure lived up to its name. Although there was no chance of him taking the car to its top speed of just over 250 MPH, Sonic was more than thrilled to take it up to 180 MPH in the nice traffic gap they currently had. In his review he could see Sally accelerating to catch up, but then he saw something else. In the far lanes he saw two pairs of headlights coming up on their tails, and fast.

"Sally, on your six!"

_"What?... Oh shit! Are those-"_

"I think so! MOVE IT!"

They couldn't be sure who, but somebody was trying to catch up to them. The "body language" of the trailing vehicles told them so. But just when the two of them had put their foots to the floor, the silence on their communicators was broken.

_"Dudes, chill!"_

The greatest sensation of relief shot through Team Blue's bodies upon hearing the voice of a friend. Slowing down a little and moving into the middle lanes they were joined by Antoine in the SLR and Manic in a black Porsche Carrera GT.

"Nice catches you got there, bro."

_"Same to you, dude."_

"But correct me if I'm wrong... aren't those the first two you were going after?" Sally asked.

There was a pause from the other end. _"I was about to ask you the same thing"_ Manic responded.

"You guys mean to tell me that after all this time you've only gotten two?" Sonic asked.

_"Theengs got a beet compleecateed for us."_

"Yeah, same here," Sally followed up.

"Alright alright. It doesn't matter. There's more to tonight than just us. Let's get these four ladies home and see how the others did" Sonic suggested.

_"Sounds good to me dude."_

The four-pack of cars continued on down the road until reaching the proper exit. From there it was a few city and side streets until finally they'd reached the docks.

* * *

Just as they'd been instructed the four of them had come in the back way to the docks, which was nothing more than a sliding chain link fence with an armed guard and a shoddy lean-to. After being let it it was a short drive down a very narrow road and an even more narrow alleyway until everything opened up to a busy dock atmosphere. Carefully navigating the dock operations, machines, and personnelle they pulled up to the warehouse that they were instructed to come to. On cue, Snively Kintobor came out of the structure, a clipboard in his hands. Seeing who as there he made a gesture to have the door raised. Snively motioned for them to proceed forward.

_"I weel go first. Zat way I can 'elp you park."_

As he'd said, Antoine went first, followed by Manic. After that Sonic pulled in, followed by Sally. By chance Snively turned his back when Sally came by so he didn't her at first. As Antoine pulled his SLR up next to the rest of the stolen cars Sonic couldn't help but notice that minus their four there were only ten other cars. As Antoine helped the others park Snively came over to inspect the newly arrived vehicles and jot down that they had been received. Since this round of cars had proven to be a bit easier than expected to steal, as far as the actual car went, they easily past the inspection.

"Nice to see you doing some real work for once," Snively insulted at Antoine.

"Va te faire enculer!"

"What did you say!"

"Ha! A bit rusty on your French, eh Snivley?" Sonic taunted.

"Shut up, hedgehog! Like you would know what he said!"

"Actually, I do. You forget, I've known Ant a lot longer than you. He's taught me a thing or two about his language."

"Oh? Then let's hear you say something."

"I don't think I could say anything, but I recognized some of the words so I can piece it together."

"Figures. Your mouth is bigger than your brain."

"Maybe so, but at least I still have my hair."

Sonic knew he'd hit home with the bald joke. Both Sonic and Antoine burst into laughter along with Manic, who'd just been getting out of the Porsche. Sally, however, still hadn't gotten out. She was thinking about keeping her presence a secret for now.

"Laugh it up, you three! At the rare you're going I'll be the one laughing at 8 A.M. tomorrow morning when you fail to finish the job!"

"Well, maybe we'll be lucky and your last few hairs will fall out by then so we'll have something to laugh at!"

Sonic's retort made the three of them laugh again. Not having any good come-backs Snivley huffed at them and started stomping away.

"Aw, deed we 'urt your feeleengs?"

"Shut your face, you coward! We both know the only reason your feeling so confident right now is because your hedgehog lovers are with you! If they weren't here now I would already have punished you for disrespecting me! So if you have any regards for your life you'll apologize for everything that was just said to me, regardless of what it was because it doesn't matter to me!"

"He told you to go get fucked in the ass... _Snively_."

Sally had quickly abandoned her plan to stay silent after Snively's threats. The short being's heart faltered in his chest upon hearing a voice he knew all too well. Seeing Princess Sally Acorn exit the CCX made his hands tremble and he dropped his clip board and pen to the ground. Confidently Sally began to approach the quivering being, knowing full well he wasn't going to do anything to her.

"P-P-P...Princess... Sally!"

"That's my name, minus the stuttering P at the beginning."

"N-no! It, it can't be!" This c-c-c-c-c-can't be happening!" he screeched as Sally came to be right in front of him.

"Oh, it is. It definitely is," she said he she shoved Snively to the ground as she ended her sentence. "Let me tell you something, needle nose. You and your fat-assed boss should have known that if your ever got involved with anything shady again I'd find you sooner or later. From the looks of things you didn't take that into consideration. Too bad."

"Why me! Why me! Why me!" Snively squeaked, almost crying.

"And you call Antoine a coward? I think I'm looking at one right now. Actually... your lower than a coward. You're a pussy with a capital P."

Behind them the other three broke into their hardest and loudest round of laughter yet with an occasional woot and holler in between. Sally got down on one hand so she was right in Snively's face.

"Antoine said something about Robotnik wanting to see us. Can we do that yet? And you'd better answer fast"

"N...no."

"Why?"

"Business."

"When can we see him?"

"M-m-midnight!"

"Good... I'll see you then, along with the rest of our deliveries."

Leaving Snively to cower in a ball on the floor she walked back over to the rest of her teammates. Before he could get up the others teleported away. Siting up on the floor Snivley tried to catch his breath. He couldn't believe that even with all their caution they'd still been found by the one person they knew could bring them down again.

"I sure hope you've got a good plan, Dr. Robotnik. If you don't we're done for, and this time they won't let us walk away with our lives" he thought with deep terror.

* * *

"Did you see the way he curled up like a worm in front of Sally!"Manic said in a fit of laughter.

"I know! And he gets on my ass about having a big mouth! He spouts off thinking he's all big and bad, then starts crying like a wimp!" Sonic added.

"Oui! And 'e eez calleng me a coward, so what does 'e do? 'e deedn't eeven try to stand up for heemself een front of Preencess Sallee!"

"What can I say, guys. I may be a Princess, but that little bastard pushed my bitch button."

After one last round of laughter it was back to business. Checking his laptop Manic confirmed that in nearly one hour fourteen cars had been stolen. Also, by checking various other features he could tell that one or two more had already been acquired. Even so, Manic had something to say about their pace.

"So it took us an hour to get fourteen cars."

"Is that a good pace?" Sonic asked.

"Technically, it's okay. I mean, if we were to stay on that pace we would finish by about three in the morning."

"Zat eez good zen, yes?"

"Yeah, but it's also the best case scenario. My experience has shown me that with a large-scale, long-term operation like this it only slows up as time goes on."

"Are you saying we're gonna get tired and start crapping out, bro?"

"I don't know about crapping out, but tired yes. Don't brush me off, Sonic. We're all gonna be zombies by the time 8 A.M. rolls around."

"Then I guess the best thing to do is to try and keep our momentum up as much as possible before we start getting tired. The more we get now the better we'll be once we start getting tired."

"You got it. And speaking of which, did Snivley say anything to you about when we're gonna see Robotnik about cutting a deal, Sally?"

"Yeah. He said he's busy until midnight taking care of business."

"Dammit! Are you serious!" Manic shouted.

"Uh-huh."

"It's alright, bro. To tell ya the truth I'm glad we're not gonna do that right away. Things were a little shaky for us. Getting the CCX for Sally took us through a whole ventilation system and we damn near got cut up but a vent fan at the end of it."

"Mon dieu!"

"Don't worry, though. We didn't get hurt. But it sure took away a lot of time" Sally informed them.

"Zee same theen 'append weeth us. Zee first car was not zee problem. But we 'ad to try all of zem before we got eet on zee last try."

"Damn! It took you an hour for one car?"

"That's wha happens on jobs like this, dude. Things go wrong. But it's alright."

"How so?" Sally asked.

"I know this is gonna sound crazy coming from me, but I think I might have given us a bit of good karma."

"Say what!"

"Just listen. Remember how our first attempt at this job went bust? All the cars we took went to the impound, so-"

"YOU STOLE A CAR FROM THE IMPOUND!" Sonic and Sally shouted.

"Now that the whole _block_ knows, yes. Like I said, that's what happens sometimes. But getting back to my point, that Porsche I just delievered was the same one I stole back on our first attempt."

"I sought eet looked fameeleear!"

"Hmph. Didn't know you were into superstitions there, bro."

"Ay, whatever helps, ya know?"

A beeping alarm sounded from Manic's laptop. Upon checking it out any joy in Manic's face from saving the Porsche he'd coveted earlier in the week was gone. Glancing up with a frown on his face he turned the computer around to show the screen. It was the weather radar for the area and a huge green blob intermixed with yellow, orange, and even a bit of red was on it.

"Storms are comin' in" he said plainly.

"So much for zee karma."

"Guess that's all the more reason to shut up and work" Sonic stated.

"You got that right. Antoine, we're going... CHAOS CONTROL!"

And with a green flash Manic and Antoine were gone. Looking over at Sally Sonic thought it looked like something was on her mind.

"Sal? You okay?"

"...No..."

"Is it Robuttnik?"

"Yes, but that's been bothering me for a while."

"Then what?"

"...I just committed a crime, Sonic. Multiple ones. I've never committed a crime before... ever..."

Sonic placed a hand on Sally's shoulder to show he understood. "I know Sal. I feel like shit too. But like Manic said, the faster we go, the faster we get this done and the faster we can move on."

"If only it were that easy, Sonic."

"Where's the complication?"

"I just... I don't know if I can finish this... with you, I mean-"

Sonic held up his hand. "I know what you're going to say. And I understand. This is only the beginning of all of this. If you want to stop now, you can. Just say the word."

Sally never said anything. She only motioned that it was time to get moving. After a quick blue flash they too were gone. Round one was over, but it was quite possible the night was going to go to round fifteen.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	23. Bad Weather

**Author's Notes**:

* * *

**HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!**

**

* * *

**

I'm so sorry this chapter took so long. A combination of severe writer's block and the fact that June was beyond busy for me I had a really hard time getting work done on this chapter.

All I have to say about this chapter is that unlike the last one it's not so time specific. It's meant to take place over a longer period of time, hence why I don't mention times as much. And as I said in the previous chapter I focused a bit more on other points of the thefts in this chapter.

One other thing. Although it's still optional, I still am making the same suggestion as the last chapter in that you might want to plug the cars into an image search engine just to see what they look like. I didn't go into as much detail with them this chapter so knowing what they look like ahead of time might help. But again, that's optional. You're choice.

Other than that, as per usual all criticisms/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged as always.

* * *

_**Red Team**_

**Knuckles - 2004 Spyker C8 Spyder T - _Sydelle_  
**

**Julie-Su - 2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione - _Romola_  
**

_**Blue Team**_

**Sonic - 2005 Maserati MC12 Stradale - _Marilyn_  
**

**Sally - 1998 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK-GTR - _Aurora_  
**

_**Yellow Team**_

**Tails - 2008 Aston Martin DBS V12 - _Debbie_  
**

**Chuck - 1964 Aston Martin DB5 - _Jamie_  
**

_**Green Team**_

**Manic - 2008 BMW M3 Coupe - _Macy_  
**

**Antoine - 2008 BMW M5 Sedan - _Mary_  
**

_**Purple Team**_

**Shadow - 2005 Maybach Exelero**** - _May_  
**

**Rouge - 2008 BMW M6 Convertible - Marcy  
**

_**White Team**_

**Silver - 2008 Rolls Royce Tungsten Edition - _Tulia_  
**

**Rotor - 2008 Bentley Brooklands -_ Brooke _  
**

_**Cyan Team**_

**Sonia - 2008 Audi R8 - _Audrey_  
**

**Bunnie - ****2002 HUMMER H1 10th Anniversary Edition ****- _Hermione_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 23** **- ****The Autokrieg (Part 4)**** - Bad Weather**

At this point it had been two hours since the main job of the night had started and things weren't going along all that great. Despite the fact that they were technically a quarter of the way done, it was very bitter sweet, and more on the bitter side. Although they'd secured fourteen vehicles within the first hour, a pace that would have had them finish early, things had not gone along quite as good after that. In the next hour they'd only gotten ten cars, and not in rapid succession. The truth was they were running into numerous problems. Everything from cars not being were they were supposed to be to gear and equipment malfunctions, to issues with the routes they took or trying to avoid two teams going for the same car. However, the most troublesome problem they had to deal with was the fact that a rain storm had moved into the area and was not going to leave any time soon. The wet weather practically played a part in all the other problems. And all of this, naturally, was only wearing out the team faster, thus making an already difficult and time consuming task even slower and harder.

Even though the car teams were certainly having a rough go of it, they were not the only ones that were having issues. In the middle of town at Sonia's boutique there was nothing but a continuous list of problems that had occurred with the shipment of all natural products. From the wrong products being delivered, to products that were known to be illegally tested, to purely synthetic items, and even things weren't supposed to be shipped to the boutique, were just some of the things that had gone wrong and that, naturally, Cosmo had to try to fix.

Slouching down into a seat at Sonia's desk Cosmo put her head into her hands, trying to rub away an on-coming headache. Glancing over at a small clock on the wall it was ten after ten. What was supposed to take an hour, perhaps an hour and a half at most, was no dragging on to an even longer stretch. However, at the moment things were going smoothly so Cosmo took the chance to sit back in the reclining leather chair. No sooner had she done so, however, when the desk phone rang. It turned out to be a report that the truck coming from the airport with the correct packages had crashed due to the rain-slicked roads and would be delayed while a new truck was being fetched to get the merchandise. Slamming the phone down after the long call Cosmo collapsed down onto the desk after the lengthy conversation.

"I'll stick to the gardening and the flower business any day!" she said rhetorically.

A jolt went through her system when another phone rang. This time, however, it was one that was for calls coming from outside the business. Looking at the called I.D. Cosmo was quite surprised to see the name on the readout. Even so, she had to be careful with what was said, per Sonic's orders if calls had to be made.

"Hi, you've reached the gates of hell. How may I help you?"

_"That doesn't sound like the you that I know. What's wrong?"_

After Cosmo's explanation, she was answered with _"Are you, like, freaking **serious!**"_

"Why would I lie?"

_"Damn! I'm so sorry that you've had to go through this! That's never happened to me when I'm there!"_

"Heh... Well, all points considered are you surprised? Consider the luck we've had over the very recent past."

_"Yeah, I know. Things are kinda rough for us too. And this rain isn't helping a bit either."_

"Tell me about it."

_"Yeah... Well, at any rate, you know that I really appreciate what you're doing for me. Just try to take it easy and hopefully things will go a bit better for ya."_

"I know. And thanks for calling."

_"Helps hearing something other than an inventory report, huh?"_

"Mm-hmm."

_"Alright, well you take care now."_

* * *

**(CYAN)**

_"You too."_

"Will do. Bye."

The two girls were alone in Manic's house, having just returned from their last delivery. Despite the slowed pace, Bunnie made an enlightening discovery.

"Good news, sugah. According to this heah list that y'all little brother made we're just about at the quarter-way point."

"True, but it's going on ten thirty. We could, or even should, have had even more by now if it weren't for all the problems we've been having."

"A'h know! Seems like every dang gone thang that could gone wrong has gone wrong!"

"That's an understatement. And as if our own troubles weren't enough, now there's rain too! Now I'm not only committing crimes against society, but against fashion too! My hair is a mess! Look at it!"

"Y'all can thank Murphy for that."

"Who's Murphy?"

"Ya mean to tell me you nevah heard ah Murphy?"

"Uhh... no."

"Dang, sugah! You need to get out moah often!"

"I believe I get out quite enough, thank you!"

"A'h mean outside this heah city, which is where we're goin' right now."

"Just as long as there's no stunts to be pulled like we did earlier! I'm still totally freaked out about that, you know!"

Bunnie ignored her whining and with the proper incantation they were teleported out of the comfort of Manic's house and into the stormy night. Once there it became quite clear that they they had showed up in a wooded area. It was incredibly dark, the rain seemed to come down even harder since there was water dripping from the trees, and most of all, they'd landed right in a mud puddle.

"EEEEEEEEEEEW! I hate mud!"

"Shhhhhhh!"

"Look at my shoes! They're all muddy now! And what the hell is that smell!" Sonia whined, covering her nose.

"It's called earth. That's what it smells like when it rains and there's nothing but dirt around."

"Whatever. Let's just get moving and get out of this rain!"

Trekking down the side of a small hill and up another one they came upon a a small cabin perched on the edge of a swamped dirt road. The small dwelling was dark so there was no concern of getting caught. Taking shelter under an awning attached to the house the two girls shook as much of the rain off of themselves as they could. They also stamped as much mud off their shoes as possible and made sure to wash it away to get rid of their tracks, a task that Sonia largely left up to Bunnie. Trying to fix her hair in a dark reflection of a puddle then and only then did Sonia take the time to notice a huge vehicle covered with a black tarp.

"What the hell? Is there a tank under there or something?"

"Kindah."

With a swift pull Bunnie removed the tarp and underneath was a metallic copper colored Hummer H1 wagon. Right away Sonia had a sickening feeling in her stomach. There was surely only one way out of the woods they were in and that was through the dirt roads, which this vehicle could clearly handle.

"Y'all don't look too happy."

"Because I know how we're getting out of here with this rig. It's not gonna be a fun ride."

"I don't know about that. It won't be easy getting out of heah with muddy roads, but not fun? In this thang it's gonna be a blast!"

"Speaking of which, what's a thing like this doing all the way out here by itself?"

"This areah is a hot place for hikahs and huntahs. They have these cabins set up throughout for those who want to stay out in the wildahness."

"I don't know why anybody would want to stay out here when they could come to the city and have everything they need."

"Hmph... Like I said, you need to get out a little moah. Come on, let's take this thang."

No sooner had they started selecting the equipment they might need when Bunnie noticed a note tucked under one of the truck's windshield wipers.

"Look heah, sugah. Whoevah the ownah is left a note. Look."

"Hmm... So this guy, or girl, lost the keys out in the woods and had to bum ride into town and will be back out in a few days to meet up with the friends mentioned here... Talk about luck! We need some!"

"That's fah showah!"

Knowing that they were well in the clear they easily got the massive H1 open and got inside. However, once in they both couldn't help but notice a stench coming from the back of the vehicle. Since Bunnie was working on getting the proper ignition signal Sonia exited and went to the rear double doors of the wagon bed. Opening the doors the smell got a little stronger and seemed to be coming from a large black bag. Out of curiosity she opened it. What followed was an ear-piercing scream that echoed off of all the trees and hillsides in the area. Caught of guard Bunnie sprinted to Sonia's side, finding her on the ground and quivering in fear.

"What in the high hell happened!"

Sonia could only point at what had freaked her out. Looking in the bag Bunnie found the sac filled with various recently-hunted small game. Although she could deal with the sight, but only just barely, the smell was rather rank so she pulled it from the bed and tossed it aside. Slowly she helped Sonia get to her feet and back into the cab where the key was now ready.

"You okay theah?"

"..."

"Soniah?"

"... Let's just get out of here. Now that I know what the bastard that owns this thing does in their free time I don't feel so bad taking it away from them."

"Hey... don't say that. Remembah, to someone this truck means a lot to them."

"... I know... Sorry..."

"What we're doin' isn't punishment on othahs. It's about saving those close to us and stoppin' that mad man."

"Yeah... I just hope that going through all this trouble is worth it in the end."

"Me too, sugha. Me too." After pausing for a moment Bunnie raised her communicator to her mouth. "Mah new friend Hermione is gonnah put on her best disahpearin' act."

As predicted, the massive truck was easily able to handle the rough roads that lead away from the site. However, as the two girls trudged their way through the dark, winding, muddy roads both had their minds elsewhere. One thought of her brother, the other her groom-to-be.

* * *

**(GREEN)**

"Oh come on, it's not really that bad is it?"

"Eez zat suppozed to be a joke because eet eez not funnee!"

"I told you, just breath more through your mouth. That way you don't smell it as much."

"Oh, zat's a real 'elp! Eenstead of smelleeng zee stench, I 'll breethe eet eenstead!"

Manic sighed at the coyote's constant bickering. Once again he'd chosen for them to enter their next location via the sewers. He did this because for their next location it was easier to break out from inside then from the outside in. This also helped them to avoid the steady rain above, but their process was still slowed. Since the main sewer lines were flooded with rain water now they had to stick to service passages and maintenance paths which weren't as direct. Even so, they were lucky because one service way still dropped them off at their target. After another length or two of tunnel they'd reached a ladder to a street access point. Up the ladder they went with Manic leading so he could undo the manhole cover. Scanning the area and seeing it was clear Manic climbed to the top and helped Antoine back out, making sure to replace the cover. To Antoine's surpirse they'd ended up inside the very back of huge lot of a BMW dealership.

"Wow!... Zat was well worth zee treep een zee end."

"Told ya."

"But zis eez a beeg place. D'you theenk zat sere could steel be someone 'ere?"

"Not at this time of night. And besides, like I said. I studied this place's security system. Easier to get around from the inside than the outside."

"I am 'opeeng so."

"Trust me. Alright, let's move."

Their first objective was to make it over to the main building so Manic could work on disabling any systems that might blow their cover. However as they quickly made their way through the property both of them felt something was wrong. Having both been involved in illegal activities at some point in their lives, both Mobians had the "sixth sense" feeling that something in this location wasn't right, though they didn't know what. It almost felt as though somebody else was there with them, watching them. Finally reaching the back side of the main dealership complex Manic was readying his basic tool kit when Antoine stopped him.

"Maneek..."

"What?"

"I theenk we should abort."

"... So you've felt it too."

"Oui... Sometheeng eesn't right."

"Yeah... It really feels like somebody else is here, doesn't it?"

"Or at leest could 'ave been 'ere..."

"More like was here... Look."

Manic pointed out that the security system had already been broken into and disabled, along with the alarms and emergency lighting system. Calling upon his knowledge of sabotage Manic could tell that whoever had did all of this was a professional and knew full well what they were doing. Seeing that made Manic nervous.

"I think you might be right, dude. I think we should look elsewhere for the Beamers."

"Zey are quite a common car, no? Eef we look around we could fine zem, yes?"

"I think so. Let's get the hell outta here."

The pair turned and started making their way back towards where they had come in. Before they could get there, though, both of them were almost confident somebody was following them so they took cover behind some decorative shrubs in the middle of the lot.

"Did you see anyone?" Manic said in just barely a whisper.

"I don't theenk so, but..."

"But?"

"Eet deed feel like zere was... sometheeng zere."

"Yeah... It's cool. I can see the exit from here. We can make it if we hustle."

"Oui. On zee count... Trois... Deux... l'Un..."

Just as their muscles filled with adrenaline to sprint their way out the unmistakable sound of a handgun being cocked froze them in their tracks.

"Merde..."

Antonie's hand slowly went for his jacket, which Manic knew protected the machine pistol he'd shown himself to have earlier. Manic gently shook his head and motioned for them to raise their hands. In the moment that the coyote thought about which choice he would make a sigh broke the silence.

"Are you trying to get yourselves shot?"

Both of them spun their heads around. It was Shadow, a Beretta pistol in each of his hands. For a moment the two of them were a bit confused as to why he had shown up with guns drawn, but they were motioned to follow. They were brought to a section of the lot that was under an overhang, a welcomed relief due to the rain. It was there that another surprise was unleashed. Rouge was there and not only had she prepped the M6 they were about to steal, but also finishing up the work on the M5 and M3 they'd come for. Due to the rain she'd donned a theme-fitting black leather jacket which, in all fairness, was something the two of them though she should have had all along.

"'Ow deed you know zat we were comeeng?"

"We didn't exactly know you were coming, but we saw you when you got here. And since we came for Marcy here, I figured why not get Mary and Macy ready for you" Rouge answered.

"Oh... Well, merci beacoup zen."

"Wait a sec, you saw us coming?"

"Well yeah, you weren't exactly being the most inconspicuous after you came up from the sewers. And coming from a bat, that's saying something."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind that" Shadow interrupted. "She's right. I thought you had experience as a thief," Shadow mocked, tucking his handguns away. "Instead you're running around like a kindergarteners and not giving a damn about what you're doing. No wonder you got caught the first time around. You're careless."

"Speak for youself, douche bag."

"And why should I do that?" he answered coolly.

"You're the one being careless because you're not following orders."

"Are you referring to the pointless one about not allowing firearms?"

"Duh!"

"Hmph... Do you honestly think you could take them away from me so easily?"

"I don't know you even found them."

"Have you forgotten what I'm capable of?"

"No, I remember full well how capable you are of being an arrogant ass."

"Funny, I could say the same thing about Sonic."

"Soneek gave zat order to 'elp protect you!"

"I'll protect myself, thank you very much."

"So what about Rouge, huh? You gonna protect her too? Or is she expendable at the cost of saving yourself?"

Rouge glanced up from the work she'd just finished but made sure not to be seen. Shadow also glanced over at the pair but said nothing as he go into the white M6. Rouge mentioned that all they had to do was use their keys and they'd be off. Without any other words or actions they watched as their teammates snuck out a back entrance.

_"Marcy wants you to know she's headed home."_

Rouge's announcement went relatively unnoticed by the two of them. Their irritation at Shadow's defiance was bugging them, a fact that they were both aware about in themselves and each other.

"Should we be telleeng Soneek about zis?"

"What do you think? Of course!"

"But at zis moment?"

Manic didn't get the chance to answer. In the reflection of the windows of the cars they were going to take they saw headlights pull into the front of the lot. The two quickly ducked inside the vehicles and stayed as low as possible. But their heart missed a beat when they saw red and blue lights begin to flash. Somebody passing by must have reported seeing intruders in the lot and a unit had been sent to investigate. Manic took a peek long enough to see the patrol car stop a little ways in from the lot and turn on its search light. The began to prowl over the lot, right in their direction.

_"Maneek! Zis eez bad!"_ Antoine whispered over the communicator.

"I know... Stay down and shut up...Trust me."

The search light scanned the lot, including their cars, several times. Eventually the spot light was turned off, but they still stayed down as the red and blue lights got closer. They listened as the squad car slowly crept up to them, even stopping right in front of them and the spot light going on once more to check the area where suspicious activity was reported, which included right into the two vars they were hiding in. Although all of this took less than five minutes, it felt like five hours to them. Peeping up again Manic watched as the squad car exited the lot and drove away.

"Damn... that was too close."

_"Zat eez an under zee statement."_

"Let's get out of here."

_"Oui, je consens. We are on zee same wave weeth zat."_

"_Page_," Manic corrected, fighting off the snickers.

* * *

**(WHITE)**

Rotor and Silver had tried twice before in the night to heist "Brooke" and "Tulia" from a high-end hotel but on one occasion there was a situational problem and the other time there was equipment failure that would make it difficult to complete the job. This time, however, they decided to go on a more simplistic approach. By chance the pair had discovered a laundry dumpster around the back of the hotel where staff linens were sent. By even more of a chance there were a few uniforms that the valet attendants wore in that container. And by still further luck those uniforms actually fit them, one could say, kind of.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Rotor answered.

"Oh really?" Silver snapped. "Then why haven't you stopped snickering since we got here?"

"It's just... that outfit is so loose on you you look like... well... a clown, I guess."

"Like you have any room to talk? I can hear the button begging for mercy on yours it's so tight!"

"Woah, take it easy! I didn't mean anything by it!"

"Sure you didn't."

"What's wrong with you tonight, Silver? You've been really edgy. Is something on your mind, other than tonight?"

Silver looked away, a scowl on his face. "No."

"It doesn't sound like it. You sure?"

"There's nothing on my mind."

Rotor still suspected that something was bothering his partner, but for now he had to drop it. From their hiding spot they could see two sets of headlights approaching. It was the targets they'd come for. Using umbrellas they'd taken from a stand the valets used when it was raining the two stepped out into the driveway and flagged down the cars. Making sure to keep their faces as obscured or unseen as possible they passed on the umbrellas to the drivers who took them and quietly walked towards the hotel. With the keys in the ignition, and nobody else around due to the later hour and rain, they got into the car, drove down the driveway leading away from the hotel, and rather than going in the garage cut across a low concrete median, across an exterior parking lot, and right out onto a main road.

"Is it just me or was that a bit too easy?" Rotor asked.

_"Musta been our uber-convincing disguises or something."_

"Yeah. If all else fails, we could make a fortune in the valet business."

_"Yeah, a whole whopping ten grand a year. Woop-de-doo!"_

"I hear ya."

Things were quiet for a little while until they got to Route 101. Once on there the two bulky luxury vehicles got up to speed, but not too fast since they'd had so much trouble getting them and the fact that the rain had picked up a bit more. Silver tried to outrun Rotor, but once again the walrus had the faster car and pulled out in front of him.

"Why do you always get the fast ones?"

_"I don't know. I guess I just know a good one when I see one."_

"I wish I could do that."

_"You already have."_

"How?"

_"Blaze."_

"Oh... yeah."

Inside the dark gray Rolls Royce Silver sighed deeply. In all that had been happening he'd forgotten about the fact that Blaze was going to leave him after the night was over. Knowing they had a bit of a ride until they got to the docks Silver let his mind wander just a little to the one he had feelings for. It was the only comfort he could find during this dismal situation.

* * *

**(RED)**

Knuckles and Julie were also on Route 101, although a ways behind Team White. As per the growing trends of equipment trouble and weather the acquisitions of "Sydelle" and "Romola" had been troublesome, but not necessarily plagued with problems. Despite the issues they were making up time one their way back to the drop off. However, Knuckles had been relatively quiet recently and also didn't seem to be quite as boisterous to things going on between him and Julie or other things they heard over their communicators.

Julie had a sneaking suspicion she knew what was going on. The night Knuckles had lost his father the weather was much the way it was now. There was no doubt in her mind that to some degree Knuckles' mind was not completely on task right now. She'd been wanting to ask him if he was alright, but she feared that she might anger or insult him by bringing the topic up. Not only that, she was also worried that if he wasn't thinking about that and she did mention it then it would trigger an episode of depression within him.

Ironically, this caused Julie to become just as silent as Knuckles was. This, in turn, caught his attention and made him wonder if something was wrong with her. Turns out she was right in thinking he'd been thinking about his dad because he was. But he also thought that perhaps she was thinking about it as well and was saddened by that fact. Not able to keep his curiosity at bay he dialed in her frequency to call her.

_"You alright, Julie?"_

A little ways behind him Julie jumped in her car at his voice. "HUH! Yeah! Fine!... Uhh, how about you?"

_"Alright, I guess. I was starting to worry about you, though."_

"Really? Why?"

_"Well... I don't think I have to remind you about what weather like this makes us think about."_

"Oh..."

_"What is it?"_

"Well... The reason I was being quiet was because I was worried that was on your mind..."

_"Why would that worry you?"_

"I just didn't want to offend you."

_"That's very thoughtful. But all you were doing was worrying about nothing... I was thinking about him, actually... But it's okay because..."_

"Because?" she asked with hesitation.

_"Because all I have to do is this to feel better!"_

Up ahead Julie could see the black Spyker Knuckles was driving lurch into a downshift and then spring forward, it's noisy exhaust note audible despite the current environment. Having not expected this Julie also opened the throttle of the red Alfa Romeo she was in to catch up, the intoxicating sound of the car's V8 filling the interior. The two of them reach about ninety MPH before easing off the throttle for fear of hydroplaning of losing control on a curve.

"Well, that was fun!"

_"I know, huh? No wonder Sonic likes going fast. It really does help clear the mind."_

For now Knuckles seemed content, a fact that brought some comfort to Julie. However, if for some reason there was a long pause in the action she feared he might go back into his saddened state. The way she saw it, so long as they kept driving he would keep his mind off of that which normally plagued his mind.

* * *

**(BLUE)**

"NICOLE, give me the start up procedure for this vehicle."

"Accessing, Sally..."

It had not been too difficult for Sally to reach the 'Benz she was currently working on. The complex was unique in that is was kinda like a row of apartments for cars in that each garage had its own code access system which, thanks to both NICOLE and all the available equipment. Likewise, entry to the car was about the same. With everything set and ready to go Sally went to bring "Aurora" to life, but there was no response. Turning her faux key again there was still nothing. She rechecked her entire procedure but nothing seemed wrong. However, after taking a good look at her key it looked like it had gotten wet from the rain. A similar event had occurred to a few other team members and all that had to be done was to let it dry. However, in such a critical position there was no time for that. Sally had no choice.

"Sonic, come in."

_"Is that really you? I'm falling asleep up here waiting for you."_

"I've got a problem."

_"Slow-poke-itus?"_

"Wet equipment."

_"Hmm... sounds sexy."_

"Dammit, I'm serious! I need your key."

_"Once again, sounds sexy."_

"Just get your ass down right now!" she growled through her teeth.

There was no answer, but Sally knew he was on his way after that. After a tense half-minute wait she could see Sonic pull up at the end of a driveway leading to the compound. However, he didn't do anything after that.

_"Well?"_

"Well what?"

_"You gonna come get the key or what?"_

"I think I said for you to bring the key to me."

_"You said you needed my key. You never said anything about me bringing it right to you."_

"Oh will you grow up! Getting rained on isn't goin to make you melt."

_"You never know."_

With a sigh of frustration Sally opened the door and sprinted down to the end of the block, making sure to stay in the shadows as much as possible. This, in turn, helped block a lot of the rain, but by the time she got to Sonic she was still fairly wet. She didn't even wait for him to make a witty remark once she'd reached him. Snatching the key and hiding it inside her fist and jacket she ran back to the Mercedes and secured herself back inside. Throwing her wet hair aside she used the new key and, fortunately, started the car right up. Pulling out quickly the two left the scene in haste since they'd been there so long. As they drove away Sonic couldn't help but notice Sally's matted hair and fur.

"Headin' to a beauty pageant in that ride?"

_"Are you sure you want me to answer that?"_

"Aww, don't get all pissy. After all, it's not like you're gonna melt."

Sonic could see her huff in the car next to them. Just as they pulled up to a red light Sonic's communicator beeped. It was a text message from Manic. The message was only two words long, but their message was clear:

**_Shadow. Guns._**

Despite the sound of the rain and the fact that they were in separate cars, Sally could hear Sonic swear loudly and punch the dashboard of the Maserati he was in.

_"Sonic? What's wrong?"_

"Didn't Tails say these things had GPS?"

_"Yeah, why?"_

Without answering Sonic pulled up the device's GPS system. Initially all it displayed was his location in all of Station Square. However, after going through a menu or two and ignoring Sally's inquiries to what he was doing, Sonic found a setting that showed the position of anybody who had their communicators active, which of course was everybody. Shadow and Rouge were currently on Route 280, headed towards and getting close to the docks. There was only one thing Sonic had on his mind. Glancing over the screen they were also close to an entrance to Route 280. In the reflection of the windshield Sonic could see the traffic light turn green. His hands clamped onto the steering wheel and his fingers hovered over the paddle shifters as his foot mashed the pedal down. The rear tires spun wildly on the surface, throwing a cascade of water up from them as the vehicle's torque pulled the rear end out.

Regaining control Sonic continued down the road while Sally, caught off guard, tried to catch up. Her Mercedes, which was even more powerful than that MC12 Sonic was in, was easily catching up when Sonic tried to make an abrupt turn. In his haste Sonic had tried to speed up more but his car hydroplaned. Horrified, Sally could only watch as Sonic's car spun wildly in the road and came to a halt just shy of street light.

_"After all the trouble we went through to get that thing you're acting like an idiot! What the hell are you doing!"_

"Going to kick Shadow's ass!"

_"What for!"_

"Because that bastard went against my order against guns!"

_"...Really?"_

"That's what Manic told me."

_"...Let's go kick his ass."_

"Sounds good. Route 280 ain't far from here. Let's go."

The two made their way to the entrance ramp, only about a minute or so away, in a cautious but swift fashion so as to avoid another near accident. Winding up the spiral on-ramp Sonic glanced down at his GPS. Shadow and Rouge were not far ahead at all, maybe a mile or so. And with the power behind their vehicles, and the relatively slow speed Team Purple was traveling at, catching them was not going to take long at all.

* * *

**(YELLOW)**

In between the blue and purple teams was Team Yellow. As angry as Sonic was at Shadow's disobedience he had no idea how fuming Tails was. Cruising along in the pair of Aston Martins Chuck could see the scowl on Tails' face as he sped past for no particular reason. It was not the first time Tails had done this since complaints and problems had been coming across the communicators and at this point the elder felt something had to be said.

"Having fun?"

_"What?"_

"I said are you having fun?"

_"With what?"_

"Well, you sure seem to be passing me a lot. Am I going too slow? Or is it fun for you to blast past me in a huff?"

_"I see where this is going."_

"Is it honestly worth getting all worked up over a few problems? Especially given the fact that you built all of this stuff in such a short time with practically no testing?"

_"That's not what's pissing me off."_

"Then what is?"

_"It's all the things I didn't create or skimped on. I mean, all the things I thought weren't going to be a problem are now slowing us down. I shoulda taken more into consideration into those factors. The way I look at it, I'm responsible for our delays in part."_

Chuck could help but chuckle."Do you honestly believe that? Think about what you did do. If you hadn't, I don't know if it would have even been possible to do this."

_"Not exactly something to be proud of."_

"Yes... But would you rather have had to do what you have, or live with knowing that two of your closest friends died because you didn't do anything about it?"

_"I think I've already been down that road."_

Only then did Chuck realize his mistake. Tails knew all to well what it felt like to lose a friend. "Tails, I... I didn't mean it like that. I just-"

_"I know, Unc. It's cool. And I agree. I've already gone through that and I sure don't want to see anybody else have to go through what I did because I know damn well it won't turn out like it did for me."_

"So... no hard feelings?"

_"After all you've done for me? Come on Unc., you should know me better than that. I can keep my temper under control."_

Their conversation was interrupted by Sonic blasting by them doing close to a dangerous 150 MPH. Both of their cars were blasted by the back flow of water from the tires as he raced by and right on down the road. Soon all they could see was a small pair of tail lights growing ever smaller on the road in front of the, but behind them they spotted another pair of headlights slowing up behind them.

_"Charles, do you read me?"_

"Loud and clear, Sal. What's going on?"

_"Sonic's a bit ticked off right now and he's going to pay Shadow a visit."_

_"That was Sonic? Damn!"_ Tails commented._  
_

"I hear that. What's going on, anyway?"

_"Shadow went against Sonic's request for no guns on the job. Somehow he got them back and Manic caught him with them. Now Sonic's going to go give him a piece of advice or two."_

"Oh great. Sonic and Shadow fighting over guns. Does anybody else smell trouble?"

_"I do, and after the talk me and Chuck just had, I'm not letting anything happen to him!"_

Up ahead Tails' DBS lurched into a full acceleration. In his rear view Sally flashed her headlights, a signal for them to follow. Even though Shadow was technically on their side, there was no denying the fact that his behavior was unpredictable and there was no knowing how he'd react once Sonic had caught up to them.

* * *

**(PURPLE)**

Unaware of the irate group that was gaining on them, Shadow and Rouge continued on their route at a moderate pace. They did so not just because of the rain, but for a much more important reason. Rouge was keeping about a hundred foot lead ahead of Shadow to make sure there were no problems of any kind ahead because he was driving a eight-million-dollar, one-of-a-kind Maybach Exelero. Stealing the twenty foot long behemoth of a vehicle had been difficult enough considering the security surrounding the vehicle. But thanks to a few well crafted diversions and some stealthy actions, the heist was completed. Given all of that trouble, plus the fact that if something happened to the car there was no replace it, they decided to take it easy and take Route 280 at a moderate pace since the road was known to be less traveled than Route 101.

"Any signs of trouble?"

_"Nope. Nobody ahead of us, nobody behind us. Looks like we're in the clear."_

"Excellent."

_"How far until the exit?"_

"Less than 1300 feet."

_"Heh. Are you just trying to be annoying for fun?"_

"Yes."

_"Smart ass."_

Shadow couldn't help but grin. Given the situation he'd been keeping a relatively positive demeanor, though he kept that between himself and Rouge. He also knew it was only a matter of time before Sonic or somebody else came looking for an explanation for his taking his weapons back. However, he wasn't thinking about that for the time being. Right now all that mattered to him was keeping Rouge safe and getting the ultra-rare Maybach back to the drop off.

In no time they'd exited the highway and made their way through a short maze of city streets towards the docks. Rouge kept the lead the whole time not only to check for trouble but also because she was navigating Shadow to the widest roads in the area since the car he as driving was so large. The turn into the back way to the docks was indeed a challenge as he had to back up three times to thread the massive vehicle down the narrow lane. Pulling into the storage warehouse the two breathed a heavy sigh of relief knowing that one of the most difficult cars on the list had been brought back safely.

"Pardon me please, I must inspect the vehicles" Snivel instructed in his nasal voice.

As the pair stepped aside Shadow caught a glimpse of the list and noticed not many vehicles had been checked off. As Snively conducted his inspection Rouge couldn't help but stand close to the hedgehog beside her. Obviously they weren't going to be obvious about in while in the enemy's lair

"Two more down," Rouge commented.

"And still around seventy-something to go."

"What? It's going on 11:30. Are you sure?"

"I just saw Kintobor's checklist over there. There's not a lot of checks and cross outs on that list. And I've been watching the list program on our communicators. Progress is lethargic at best."

"There could still be a few teams yet to come in though, right?"

"True, but that's still not going to give us a good lead. With all the gear and experience we have available to us we should have been at the half-way point, at least."

"And this rain hasn't exactly helped either."

"True. And I'm sure my taking back of my weapons won't go over well either."

"But you didn't take them back. I got them for you."

"I know. And I thank you for that."

Since nobody was looking at the moment the two of them exchanged a quick kiss. They would have liked another one, but Snively was approaching them, jotting a few things down on his clip board.

"Is something wrong?" Rouge asked.

"Not really, but there was significant amounts of dirt and road grime on the BMW. And I also noted some scrape damage on the Maybach. Although this is within the realm of acceptable blights on the vehicles, I am hear-by advising you to make sure nothing beyond this occurs."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me, right? Have you noticed how heavily it's raining out there? A white car is going to get dirty in the rain!"

"That is not my problem."

"What the hell! It's not like I drove the thing through swamp or something! How am I supposed to keep dirty and water getting all over the car when-"

"Never mind him, Rouge. He's no threat to us. He's just sounding off his false level of power."

"Is that so, Shadow? I really think you under estimate how much I'm capable of. Sure, I don't have your powers, but I'm no push over."

"Really?"

Shadow's hand rocketed out and gripped the six remaining hairs on Snively's head. Letting out a squeal like a pig he tried to push the hedgehog's hands away, but as he'd just admitted, he didn't have the strength to push away Shadow's grip.

"No, please! Anything but my hair! _I beg you!_"

"I thought you said you weren't a push over?"

"I'm not! But everybody has an Achilles Heel! You of all people should know that!"

Knowing where Snivley was going Shadow's other hand clamped around the throat of his captive. Clamping his fingers shut Snively wheezed as Shadow leaned in, bearing his teeth.

"Don't you dare bring that up. I swear if you even think about going to that level I'll rip your fucking throat out and snap your neck at the same time."

"You're walking on... thin ice... by doing this to me!" Snively wheezed.

"I don't care. You do not insult Maria's name in my presence. If you do, you _will_ have to answer to me. Do you understand?"

The cold, lifeless tone that Shadow used as he said that took away Snively's ability to speak. Wincing from having his throat squeezed his nodded his head quickly. Letting go and pushing back slightly Snively fell to the floor, rubbing his throat and coughing. He was going to say something else, but Shadow became aware of a pair of headlights and and engine note approaching fast. Very fast. Looking up he saw a blue and white Maserati MC12 come to a screeching stop while turning. The car then shot into the warehouse and slid to a stop at random. Shadow already knew who it was, but he acted cool as Sonic threw the car's door open and stomped toward him.

"Nice park job," Shadow joked.

Sonic didn't acknowledge the comment. Sonic shoved Shadow with both arms, almost knocking him over. Rouge went to intervene but Shadow shouted for her to stay back as he tried to throw a quick jab at his attacker. Sonic saw it coming a mile away and dodged it, then tried to latch onto Shadow's trench coat. Shadow was now the one blocking a move and he blocked Sonic's arms with his own. The resulting struggle lead to the two of them grabbing onto and locking each others arms.

"You've got a lot of gall attacking me," Shadow growled.

"Like you've got room to talk! I told you _no fucking guns!_"

"Do you really think I give a damn about that? If I want to arm myself, I will!"

"Likewise, if I want to disarm you, I will!"

"Hmph."

Shadow released the arm lock and managed to trip Sonic up. Though the blue hedgehog rolled away to safety, Shadow was already fed up with the topic of guns and was going to make sure Sonic knew it. In a bold display he pulled out his Berettas and held them up.

"You want these, Sonic? Come and get them."

"Is that an invitation?"

"More like a dare. That is... if you aren't afraid."

What would have become of this situation would never be known as Tails finally reached the warehouse and sling-shot his DBS into the building. Shadow acknowledged the car but didn't do anything, assuming it was only doing so to get out of the rain. He had no idea Tails was in flight, aiming right for him.

"Shadow, behind you!" Rouge shouted.

It was too late. Shadow turned just in time as Tails feet planted into his chest. The Berettas in Shadow hand went in separate directions. One bounced towards Sonic and he snatched it up. The other was quite close to Shadow and Tails. No sooner had Shadow hit the ground when Tails pounced on him and, though he tried to fight him off, Tails managed to grasp the other gun and rocket up into the air, away from any attacks Shadow could attempt. Landing beside Sonic he handed the other weapon to him and turned his attention back to Shadow. The black hedgehog go to his feet, his teeth revealed and his eye brows set in a deep arch. Rouge joined his side to keep him from doing anything.

"Didn't I tell you I'd disarm you?" Sonic mocked.

"Fuck you. And you too, you little orange rat."

"You think that'll get to me? Pfffft! The only rat is _you_, Shadow. You disobeyed a direct order from your leader. Retribution was inevitable."

"That's not all that's inevitable. I had it with this fucking operation. Finish it by yourself."

"Shadow!" Rouge cried.

"I'm done, Rouge. I'm not doing this anymore. This is pointless. Nobody has a damn clue what they're doing and if we keep at this we're gonna end up dead. I'm done."

Shadow turned to leave, but he was met by two sets of headlights as Sally and Chuck showed up. The two cars stopped quickly, blocking the path out. Shadow stood his ground for the moment, but had no intention of staying there.

"Going somewhere, Shadow?" Sally asked.

"Yes, in fact. I'm threw dealing with the incompetent leadership of that blue hedgehog. Either something changes right now, or I'm gone."

Sally calmly approached the black hedgehog, never faltering. She got right up to his face, stopping to stare into his red eyes for a moment. Then, quiet unexpectedly, she grabbed onto his jacket and pulled him right up against her, their noses actually touching.

"You think you can just start calling all the shots without consulting your team? You think you can say what's what? You think you can just leave like that? Wrong, wrong, and wrong. You've been nothing but a pain in the ass tonight Shadow, and quite frankly I'm sick of it. You signed onto this job and dammit, you're going to finish it."

Sally released Shadow and lightly pushed him away. Straightening his jacket Shadow looked back at the others in the garage, including Snively, all of whom had either looks of surprise or concern as to what was going to become of this standoff.

"So now I'm forced to finish the job. I thought you said there was a right to walk policy if we so desired?"

"There still is, but we both know you're fully capable of seeing this through."

"True, but at this point I'm going to need a reason to do so. We are lacking proper leadership and I want a proper leader for this job."

"You want one? Fine. Meet your new operation manager. Any objections?"

If there was any lack of surprise before it was gone now. Nobody had expected Sally to be so bold. That was, however, except for Sonic. He joined Sally's side, crossing his arms.

"I vote to support that. And we could ask everybody else, but since Sally is the best tactician we know, and given that she didn't have a say in all of our previous decisions, they won't find any problems with that either. And I know everybody else will agree with me. So the big question is... will you agree, Shadow?"

The one thing they'd all learned about Shadow in the past was that if he didn't say anything or try to kill you, he probably agreed with what was going on. Rejoining Rouge he said nothing, obviously somewhat satisfied by the decision. Behind them yet another pair of headlights arrived, this time a pair of BMW's. The two cars swerved around the mass of unparked cars. Seeing the scene Manic and Antoine stepped outside of their cars, looking over the crowd.

"Okay... what did we miss _this_ time?" Manic asked.

Sonic looked around, a smirk on his face. "Slight change of plan, bro. We've got a new leader."

"Really...? Okay, who?"

Sonic nodded towards Sally, an answer the other two didn't expect. The only looked on in silence since the two of them had thought Sally was going to be the last person to lead an operation she despised so much. Nonetheless they accepted it and agreed it was the right move.

"Looks like you're accepted, Sal. So, what's your first order?"

"Find out where everybody is. Tell them to finish their run no matter how far along they are and report back here right away. Snively informed me Robotnik would be available at midnight and I want us all here for that."

Snivley cringed slightly as Sally glanced over at him, knowing that when Robotnik found about her presence he'd probably want to kill him. Leaving the others to inspect the new vehicles Sonic set about his task from the new source of leadership.

* * *

**(CYAN)**

While the red and white teams were within five to ten minutes away from the warehouse, Bunnie and Sonia were anything but close by. After leaving the small campsite cabin they'd jacked the Hummer H1 from they'd done nothing but drive around in forest and end up going in circles. Occasionally they stopping moving all together to the truck unstuck when taking short cuts off road since the ground was very soggy. Finally, however, they spotted signs of civilization through the woods. However, a deep ravine stood between them and being able to cut through to the other side.

"Great... as if getting stuck in the haunted woods weren't enough, now we run into the grand canyon!" Sonia complained.

"It doesn't look like it level off anywhere close by eithah."

"So what's your plan?"

"Sugah, I wish ah knew."

Both of the girl's communicators beeped as a text message arrived. They were quite surprised to see a vague message about there being "a new teacher in the school house." But they were also concerned when it said for them to "come in for orientation" at once.

"Great! Not only, like, does i sound like there was a mutiny, but now they want us back in town and we're stuck out here!"

"It makes yah wondah what's goin' on, yah know?"

"Yeah. But we're never going to find out at this rate! There's gotta being something we can do to get out of here!"

Bunnie scanned her eyes around the woods. About a hundred feet away she spotted something that caught her eye. "Soniah, look! It's a bridge!"

"Really?... Oh yeah, I see it! Come on, let's get to it!"

After a bit more of careful navigation through the woods they indeed found a paved road leading to the bridge, meaning the bridge must have been some sort of access point. However, no sooner did they turn onto it when they saw the last thing they wanted to see. Yellow police ribbons were stretched across the entrance of the bridge, along with a sign reading "Bridge Closed." Only then did they notice a huge chuck of the structure's supports on the underside were gone and that the bridge itself was just barely standing. Sonia swore at the top of her lungs and punch the dash board so hard it's a wonder she didn't put her fist through it.

"I guess we're just meant to be stuck in these damn woods for the rest of the night!"

"Calm down, girl. I got a plan."

Putting the transmission into reverse Bunnie back the truck up as far as the paved road went, which was surprisingly about a the length of one and a half city blocks. Stopping again she put it into neutral and held her foot on the brake. Sonia quickly noticed that the bridge also had a slight incline to it. She put two and two together.

"You're not gonna do what I think you're gonna do... _are you?_"

"That depends on what y'all think I'm gonnah do."

"That's what I _thought _you'd say."

"Sugah... buckle up."

Sonia pulled her seat belt as tight as possible, pressed hard against the floor with her feet and held onto whatever she could with both hands. Bunnie also tightened her seat belt as well as her grip on the wheel. Pulling her hat down a bit on her forehead she gripped the shifter and took a deep breath.

"Hi Ho Silver... AWAY!"

Dropping the tranny into drive the rear wheels spun slightly on the wet road but they kept going straight. The huge truck didn't accelerate quickly due to its weight. Seeing the bridge get closer and that they were only just hitting forty Bunnie put the pedal to the floor to milk out any last power she could. Just seconds from the ramp they'd hit fifty and as they hit it they managed to hit fifty-five. The truck's suspension helped them catch air of the ramp, allowing them to travel past the weakest part of the structure. But they weren't going anywhere near fast enough to clear the whole thing. Landing about two-thirds of the way across the wood structure they felt it begin to crumble almost instantly.

Luckily, the top surface stayed straight and they still continued forward despite the bridge splitting and beginning to fall into the ravine. The front wheels cleared the bridge, but the surface just began to slip downward, causing the rear wheels to clip the stone ramp on the other side. The vehicle pitch forward and up onto its front wheels, threatening to tip over forward. For several feet they traveled like this, but somehow the truck never went forward enough and they slammed back down onto four wheels. Slamming on the breaks and spinning onto the main road the girls stayed dead quite as they just realized what they'd done. Looking over they saw the collapsed structure being swept away by the powerful current in the ravine. Sonia looked like she could pass out, but a huge grin was crossing Bunnie's face.

**"YEEEEEEEEEEEE_HAAAAAAAAAAAAW!_** I can't believe we just did that!"

"Neither can I..." Sonia whimpered.

"Aw, don't worry Sonia. We're fine. And hey, we're outtah the woods, right?"

"Not really... what about the car I was going to get?"

"Guess we'll just have to get it later. We got to get back to town right now."

Beginning to trek down the road Sonia's heart started to return to a normal beat. But just minutes later Bunnie slammed on the breaks, making Sonia freak out yet again.

"You really are you trying to kill me tonight, aren't you!"

"Look!"

It was hard to believe, but it was certainly true. At a tiny gas station along the road, the kind where the owners go home for the night, there was a silver Audi R8 sitting at the station. Pulling over next to the vehicle Sonia peered down and through the rain saw a note on the car's dash.

"Looks like it said the car ran out of gas and that the owner parked it here and hitched a ride back to town. Says he'd be back in the morning to gas up and go."

"Then you know what that means, right?"

A few minutes later Bunnie and Sonia left the station, this time in different cars and with full gas tanks. But at Sonia's insistence, they left the proper amount of cash for the gas under the door. Considering what they'd done, they felt it was the least they could do. But they were going to have to hurry to get back to town. It was just past 11:30 now, less than a half hour until Robotnik would meet with the team. They had to be there for that meeting, otherwise things would only be more complicated for the rest of the night.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	24. Coming to Terms

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

I'm going to be brief with my notes.

I have recently been told by multiple readers that my chapters tend to be long. This one is no exception. I understand that perhaps shorter chapters are easier to read but this is just my style and since this is a story more about its characters than the events I need longer chapters to get all my ideas out. There's nobody saying you have to read my chapters all in one sitting after all. Plus, I write long so that I can make up for the gaps between chapters, which is sometimes unavoidable when in the middle of college. Just wanted to acknowledge that point.

Just a bit of FYI, this chapter is the turning point. Everything that is going to happen from here on out starts here. A lot happens in here so be ready for quite a few things that I hope will surprise you.

Speaking of those events, the way this chapter works is once I get to the point where we visit each team all the events that occur are meant to be happening at either the same time or nearly the same time unless otherwise noted. It works this way so I could get the story to fit into the time frame that I wanted.

Lastly I used a few soundtracks for this chapter. Since we're not allowed to use lyrics I made a summary of one of the songs (you'll see it when it comes) and the other I worked it so in the Team Blue section the dialog is similar to the song's lyrics. (Credit is at the end of the chapter)

As promised I'm going to be short. You can look up the below listed cars for a greater appreciation of them and reviews are appreciated.

* * *

_**Red Team**_

**Knuckles - 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 - _Tasha_  
**

**Julie-Su - 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV - _Minerva_  
**

_**Blue Team**_

**Sonic - 1999 Lamborghini Diablo GT - _Diana_  
**

**Sally - 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo SE - _Gabriella _  
**

_**Yellow Team**_

**Tails - 2008 Lamborghini ** **Reventón**** - _Reba_  
**

**Chuck - 1964 Lamborghini 350 GT - _Tricia_  
**

_**Green Team**_

**Manic - 1972 Ferrari GTS/4 Daytona - _Dayna_  
**

**Antoine - 2006 Ferrari P4/5 - _Pina_  
**

_**Purple Team**_

**Shadow - 2003 Ferrari Enzo**** - _Elaina_  
**

**Rouge - 2007 Lamborghini ****Murciélago**** LP640 Versace **** - _Madonna_  
**

_**White Team**_

**Silver - 1995 Ferrari F50 - _Felicia_  
**

**Rotor - 1990 Ferrari F40 -_ Francesca _  
**

_**Cyan Team**_

**Sonia - 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO - _Giovanna_  
**

**Bunnie - ****1985 Ferrari 288 GTO ****- _Giona_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 24** **- The Autokrieg (Part 5) - Coming to Terms  
**

High atop the city Mina stood in her kitchen, a bottle of chilled red wine in her hands. It was roughly quarter to midnight and Mina was already tired enough from the long day she'd had so far. Things had only gotten more complicated when she'd been part of multiple conference calls and video feeds to the various record labels she was talking to on Silver's behalf. A combination of Silver not being present for the meetings, Mina not having a good grasp of what she was dealing with, and the fact that the record labels were anything but easy to work with, the negotiations had carried on for nearly three hours, with them ending only fifteen minutes prior to. As it stood the labels were going to do some further considerations over the night and also sleep on the issue. An answer would not be given to Silver until at least the next day's afternoon to perhaps a day later.

Regardless of what happened, Mina knew she'd done all she could. She also knew that all she wanted to do was relax and not have to worry about anything. But as she took a seat on her sofa, a glass of wine in her hands, a sudden thought occurred in her mind. Shortly before the others had set out stealing the cars she'd warned them Sally was missing and apparently had some sort of objective on her mind. And since she was thinking about that she'd also realized she'd heard absolutely nothing from the others. There were only two explanations for why that was.

_"Either they've been too busy to get in contact with me... or Sally went to the police... or to the Chaotix... and-"_

Her thought was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. Knowing it couldn't possibly be the record companies it had to be one of team. She hoped it was Sonic, but looking at the number of the call her heart jumped. She knew that Sally's mini super computer had the ability to make calls and that it's number was incredibly unique. It was that number she saw on her phone now. Hitting the answer put she put the device to her head, praying that this call didn't drown the out all the other things on her mind right now.

_"Mina?"_

"Yeah... it's me."

_"How are things going for you?"_

"Umm... fine?"

_"You sure?"_

"What's that supposed to mean!"

_"Nothing. You just seem nervous, that's all."_

"You're damn right I am! What have you been up to! You vanish from my place, leave a suspicious note, and then I don't hear from you or the others for hours!"

_"What? You mean nobody hasn't contacted you yet?"_

"No."

_"Not even Silver?"_

"Nobody."

_"Huh. That's weird. I would have thought you'd heard from him at least."_

"What have you done!" Mina snapped angrily. "What did you do to the others!"

_"Look. I know you're still mad as hell at me. You have every right to be. But I'm assuring you that you have nothing to worry about."_

"And why should I believe that?"

_"Because for the past four hours I've been out with everybody else. And in this past hour Sonic gave him his position to me as team leader because he felt I'd do a better job. And so far we haven't had anybody think it was a bad idea. So there's nothing to worry about. I promise."_

"...Really?"

_"I wouldn't lie. I'm on your side. I always have been."_

"Well, um... I don't know what to say... other than thanks, I guess."

_"Don't mention it. And since we're on friendly terms for the moment, I wanted to ask you a favor."_

"Oh? What?"

_"Are you up for a little driving?"_

* * *

_"Uhh, technically yes, but... after our little accident earlier, I don't know if your car is drivable."_

"It is. Before I left I glanced at it really quickly. It might not handle all that great, but it will drive."

_"I'll take your word for it, then. What is it you want me to do?"_

"I want you to go pick up the others girls from their tasks. I thought rather than having them stay around somewhere all night they could come to your place. Make it into a girl's night kinda thing."

_"Well I guess so, but are any of them done yet?"_

"Cosmo is, but Amy still has a while left to go. She'll need a ride."

_"Didn't this friend of Rouge's have a way to get around?"_

"Yeah, I just found out it was a motorcycle and this friend is a psycho driver. When Amy calls make sure you go an get her. Apparently this friend of Rouge's is a real bitch and the sooner she gets away from her, the better."

_"Alright, I'll see what I can do. And while I got you real fast, make sure you tell Silver that the record labels will contact him in the new future, possibly as soon as tomorrow, with their answer."_

"Will do. Thanks Mina."

_"Don't mention it. Oh, and Sally?..."_

"Hmm?"

_"... Thank you for helping us out."_

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Yo Sal! Bunnie and my sis are here!" Sonic interrupted.

"Okay!... I gotta go Mina. Thanks again."

Deactivating the phone feature on NICOLE Sally rejoined the rest of the group. They'd been waiting in the garage since that was the only place that Snively felt safe keeping them for the time being. With the arrival of the last two teammates and given that it was close enough to midnight, Robotnik's lackey chose to inform his boss of the team's presence to meet with them.

"I am going to inform Dr. Robotnik that you are ready to see him. If he is ready I will come back to get you. Can I trust you to be on your best behavior while I am gone, or do I have to set a guard?"

"I am the guard here, Snively. Now why don't you go get your chubby boss and tell him we're all eager to see him. Me especially" Sally ordered.

"Ep!... I mean, uh! Yes, I will!"

Regardless of how small his chirp of fright was, everybody heard Snively's squeal and chuckled, making him leave in a huff. With all possible interruptions out of the way now the curiosity of Bunnie and Sonia were pegged into what they'd been rushed back to the drop off for. However, before they could find out, Sonic had a question of his own.

"What took so long, girls? Did ya take those rigs on an extended test drive or something?"

"More like we got lost in the haunted woods, you dope! There's no street signs or lights out there!"

"Well no shit, sis! That's why they call it the wilderness!"

"Well the wilderness sucks, then!"

"At least you're back here now."

"We almost weren't though! Why don't you ask Bunnie about the little stunt she pulled!"

"I'll just say it," Bunnie said with a sigh of exasperation. "When we finally found a way out we had to jump a nearly-fallen bridge. Almost made it across but the rear wheels caught and we almost nosed over. That's all."

"Awesome!" Sonic, Manic, Silver, and Knuckles chanted at the same time.

"Oh, you men are all the same!" Sonia whined.

"Whatever sis. I'm sure both of you are wondering about the message I sent out."

"Yeah. Why did y'all want us back heah? Did somethang bad happen?"

"Nope. Just wanted to say... meet your new team leader."

Sonic pointed to Sally with his thumb over his shoulder. This was quite unexpected for them both, but after a brief explanation from Sonic as to why he thought it was a smart move and that everybody else agreed with no hard feelings it was a unanimous decision that Sally was set as the new leader.

"Well Sally-girl, looks like y'all are back in the saddle."

"For one last time."

Being long-time friends, Sally and Bunnie shared an embrace as this turn of events reminded them so much of the old days in the war. Meanwhile, Sonia pulled Sonic over to the side.

"I'm really proud of you, Sonic."

"Why? Because I admitted I was wrong for once?"

"No... Well yes, but importantly because you were willing to put your past dilemmas and woes behind and turn to another to help you do what you had to. It takes a lot of heart to do that and, as much as this whole situation sucks, you just made everything better for everyone."

"Sonia... I don't say this often, but it's when you say things like that I'm glad your my sister."

"Same here," she answered, throwing her arms around him.

"Since everybody seems to be in such a pleasant mood I'd like to take this time to ask for my weapons back... _now_."

"Not gonna happen, Shadow" Sonic answered.

"Oh? Last I checked you gave up ruling right to Sally. Let's see what she has to say about it."

Shadow looked to the Princess but only received a blank expression and crossed arms from her. He cocked an eyebrow and frowned, his way of showing his discontent. She squinted in return.

"It's not like I threatened anybody, you know. I don't see the problem."

Sally still didn't answer, but she did approach Sonic and held out her hands. Sonic didn't look to sure about it but he took the pistols out of his jacket pockets and handed them over. Still not speaking she approached Shadow. With a slight grin he reached out and took hold of the grips of the pistols. As he did Sally's own grip wrenched on full blast.

"If you use these things in any way, shape, or form that goes against our mission or cause and I hear about it I'm telling you now _you're on your own_. None of us will help you, we will not answer you, and you'll have to deal with the mess you made by yourself. And if anybody does help you out then they too are on their own. Questions?"

"...Hmph..."

There was no need for any more words. Shadow understood it, Bunnie and Julie-Su understood it since they too had originally brought guns, and everybody else understood it too.

"She doesn't kid around, does she dude?" Manic asked his brother quietly.

"Nope."

* * *

Snively paused outside the door of Robotnik's office. Even after all the years he'd spent under as a right hand man and nephew to the ex-dictator, none of that erased the fact that neither of them were on the best of terms. Snively, after all, had in fact failed Robotnik more than anybody else and to this day was still blamed for being responsible for the Freedom Fighters in winning the war. The only reason he felt he was still alive is because in the post-war world he'd made quite a few decisions that helped keep Robotnik alive and able to come as far as he had. Even so, things were far from peaceful, and being that Sally was now fully aware of where they were and what they were doing, there was no knowing how he'd react. Pressing a button outside the door he could hear a buzzer inside the office go off.

_"Yes?"_

"Dr. Robotnik, it's Snively."

_"As if I wouldn't know your voice now. Come in."_

The door automatically opened and Snively stepped in. Robontik quickly ended a call for some other business and turned his attention to his nephew. Right off the bat he knew two things were obvious.

"I'm guessing that this has to do with the night's theft operation. And judging by how much of the whites of your eyes are showing, plus the fact that you're sweating a little and holding yourself tense, that there is a problem. Is anything incorrect so far?"

"Uhh... No sir."

"Your response was delayed. This must be a serious problem."

"It is, sir. Um... we... uh... may have to abandon our operations here in Station Square immediately."

"Oh? And what makes you think we're in such immanent danger that we must leave now?"

"Because sir... Sonic and the rest of the team brought on a new member... one that has the power to bring us down... again."

For a moment, Robotnik's eyebrows raised, making his black and red eyes become larger. But they didn't raise in fear or, as Snively had been thinking, in fear. Rather, it was more of an interested gaze, almost the type one would have when presented with a pleasant surprise.

"Princess Sally Acorn."

"Y-y... yes sir."

"Well why didn't you say so sooner? Let's go greet her!"

"S-sir?"

"You heard me. The Princess of Mobotropolis is in town! We must give her the welcome she deserves!"

Snively was utterly confused. How could Robotnik, previously the emperor of the world, be so excited to see the one person who perhaps played the largest role in his defeat other than Sonic the Hedgehog? Why was he even considering the fact of confronting her personally? And most of all, how had he not killed him right then and there for not warning about Sally's presence sooner? Such were the things he thought about as his boss lead them back to the warehouse were Sally and the others were waiting.

* * *

Back in the warehouse the others were waiting to see if their mission was somehow going to get easier. At this point they were finally going to find out if whether or not Robotnik was going to give any type of constructive help in exchange for Sonic's unintentional and indirect elimination of Nack the Weasel and his cronies. Waiting patiently they all patiently pondered what information they were about to receive and more over how Robontik was going to react upon seeing Sally present. Everybody except for Sonic, of course.

"Oh come on already! Has 'Buttnik's ass gotten so fat he has to move at drunken turtle pace or something!"

"Chill out, dude! They've only been gone for about five minutes."

"The night ain't gettin' any younger, bro. Every minute we waste just standing around is less time we have to finish this stupid task!"

"So what good is getting all worked about it going to do?" Sonia asked.

"She eez right, Soneek. I theenk zat Robotneek weell be more zan glad to be 'elpeeng us out. I 'eard 'ow much 'e was complaineeng about Nack and 'ow 'e weeshed 'e could geet reed of heem."

"Faith in Robuttnik never worked out for anybody I know, Ant."

"Oui, zat eez true. But geeveen zee circumstancees, eet's zee best choice."

"I'm not so sure about best, but it's an option."

"An option that I'll make sure we get something out of" Sally commented.

"About zat... Preencess Sallee, I know zat eef zere eez one person I can trust eet eez you, but-"

"Thanks a lot, Ant!"

"_But_... I must be askeeng a favor from you."

"Don't mouth off to Robotnik?"

"Oui. Zee last time Soneek deed zat theeng deed not go so good."

"Thanks again!"

"Point taken, Antoine. As much as I'd like to curse him out and tear him apart, I don't want to jeopardize the mission."

"Let's just hope that whatever Robuttnik plans to do helps us with getting into this place with the Italian cars. I still don't know what to do about that place."

"Here comes our answer, bro" Sonic stated plainly as they heard a door opening leading in from outside.

Trekking in from outside under a large umbrella was Robotnik and Snively. Characteristic of his personality, Robotnik shook the excess water off of the umbrella onto his nephew. Tossing the device aside Robotnik took in the group before, which was larger than he'd expected but also was full of faces he knew all too well and hadn't seen in quite a long time.

"Well well well... I must say that you certainly know how to construct a team, Sonic. You selected only those with the most applicable personalities and abilities to be on your team. I remember all of you quite well, some more so than others, but nonetheless I do have many memories of you."

"Funny, so do we. And none of them are pleasant, I can assure you of that," Chuck stated.

"Ahhh, Sir Charles. The elder of the group. Seems like only yesterday we were much younger, doesn't it?"

"Considering you robbed me of several of those years by roboticizing me I try to remember those times a lot, you scumbag."

"Oh don't be so bitter, Charles. Leave that to Shadow."

"Hmph" Shadow scoffed.

"Enough. I will not let this meeting turn into a free-for-all."

Robotnik turned his attention to Sally. She'd used a firm, resolute tone to make sure the attention was on her. For a tense moment the princess and ex-dictator pierced each others eyes with an unfaltering gaze. Then, in perhaps the most bizarre display of behavior that any of them had ever seen come from Robotnik, he got down on one knee and bowed.

"Uhh... sir? What are you doing?"

"We are in the presence of a Princess, dear nephew. We must bow in respect."

"We... do?"

"Yes... **BOW YOU MORON!**"

"EEEEEEP! YES SIR!"

"Don't bother. Both of you, get on your feet. I could care less about formalities right now."

"My my _my_, Princess Sally! A bit feisty, wouldn't you say?" Robotnik answered, getting to his feet.

"I'm no where near being the bitch that I could be. Now get on with what you wanted us here for."

"Your temper concerns me, Princess. I dare say you're far too young for menopause, so I fear something else is happening to you."

"Yes, I'm running out of fucking patience. Every minute we waste waiting for you to start talking is another we can use to get the rest of this job done. So get the lead out and _start talking_."

"Very well, then. But sadly Princess I have nothing other to say to you other than but long time, no see."

"Not long enough."

"Opinions vary. Anyway, the real reason I wanted you here was I wanted to personally thank you, Sonic, for your help. Thanks to you, a certain weasel will trouble me no more."

"I didn't do a damn thing, 'Buttnik. The authorities killed Fang, not me."

"Who cares who pulled the trigger? So long as Nack is dead is all I care about. And being a man of my word, I do believe I have a debt to repay to you."

"You? A man of your word? Puh-_lease_! That statement holds just about as much water as a sieve!"

"At one time I would agree with you, hedgehog. But you forget, I'm a businessman now. If I don't uphold my end of a deal, I lose my contacts and customers. So, as a token of my appreciation, you wish is my command."

It went against all of Sonic's instincts to trust Robotnik, a man that more times than could even be counted promised or said one thing and ended up doing something else, usually in a way that didn't end well for the opposite party. But given everything that had occurred the week since he'd gotten back in town, plus the time when Manic tried to head up the job, there had been more than enough time for Robotnik to do something if he'd wanted to. The only things that had happened so far were either because of their own actions or from outsides sources. Although hesitant, Sonic decided to see how far he could bargain for some help with the mission.

"Anything I want?"

"So long as it is within my power, yes."

"How about a hand with our mission?"

"I do recall saying that I did not want to have a direct role in the operations as far as my services go."

"Does that mean no?"

"Well... considering the level of help you provided me with, I'm going to say no. What I am going to say is that if my helping you becomes beneficial for me in another sense, then I just may perhaps consider it. May I ask what you had in mind?"

"We've been in a mondo-problemo with a certain category of cars on the list because they're all in one area that's gonna be hard to get into and out of without causing too many people to rubber-neck at what we're doing."

"_Okay_... could you be more specific?"

"Sure. In fact, I'll let Manic tell you since he's been thinking about it non-stop."

"There's a big ol' joint across the river that services Lamborghinis and Ferraris. It's the biggest and best place around here, so much so that even people that don't live around here make the trek to take their cars there. All fourteen of those types that we need are there. Problem is that the place has a damn good security system and it's also situated in an area that's hard to get in and out of. Plus, there's a lot of residential neighborhoods nearby that are used to the normal activities for the area. If we just go bargin' in there and tear ass outta there in fourteen Italian sports cars people are so gonna know us dudes and dudettes are up to something."

"So you're asking me if there's a way that I can help you get those fourteen cars that will in some way benefit me as well?"

"Exactomundo," Sonic answered.

"Hmm... Believe it or not, I think there's a way we could make this work."

"How?" Sonic asked.

"I've got connections all over this city, Sonic. The problem is that sometimes I think I may have too many. It's difficult to keep up with all the requests and offers I get that many times I have to pass on some very profitable opportunities. But it seems this time I won't have to do so."

"Meaning?"

"I have a connection at that very facility. This contact is involved with... how can I put this... package transportation, perhaps?"

"The dude runs things from Point A to Point B by using the fast cars that just so happen to be sittin' around, right?" Manic asked.

"Precisely. However, due to a number of circumstances this contact hasn't been able to get any deliveries out for quite a few days now, including some of which are from me. I was informed that if deliveries don't start going out soon, well... there's going to be a lot of angry customers. So here's my proposal, Sonic. If you agree to transport a few packages in the fourteen vehicles you need from this location, I will set up everything you'll need to make it an easy transition."

"Sounds nice, but asking me won't do any good, 'Buttnik. I'm not the one in charge."

"You're not?"

"Nope. But she is."

"Oh..." Robontik answered, looking at Sally hesitantly. "Well then, Princess Sally. Do you agree to my terms?"

"I'll never agree to you terms, but if I have to deal with your terms for a short period of time... so be it."

"Excellent. I will put things into motion."

"WOAH! Wait a second dudes! We still haven't answered how the hell we're gonna get fourteen cars outta there without being spotted!"

"Actually, Manic, we have. Antoine!"

"Oui!"

"You come with me. I'll fill you in on what you need to know. Snively!"

"Yes sir!"

"Prep the rig for them... As for the rest of you, Antoine will come and get you when everything is ready."

Without any other words Robontik motioned for Snively to follow and they exited he warehouse. There was a strange air about the room at that point. Everybody was wondering what kind of arrangements were going to be made, what this courier job was going to entail, and just what exactly "the rig" was. In the uneasy silence Sonic turned to Sally.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course not. What's wrong?"

"... Nothing..."

"Just upset over the decisions you've had to make?"

"... More than you know."

* * *

About ten minutes later at midnight Snively returned, his clothes dripping from the rain which had now increased to a total downpour with the occasional lightning flash and thunderclap. He looked a bit miffed about the weather.

"Lovely weather, eh?" Sonic cracked.

"Hardy-har-har... Antoine is on his way over. You should all get ready."

"Right. Guys, get your emeralds ready" Sonic announced.

"No, you misunderstand. You won't be needing those."

"Say what? Then how are we gonna get out to the place?"

Snively didn't have to answer with words. Outside the front door of the warehouse a large diesel engine vehicle approached, it's air breaks chirping as it stopped. With the push of a button on the remote Snively raised the door.

"DUDE! CHECK IT OUT!"

Once the door had opened enough an enormous Volvo semi-truck pulled in, hauling one of the largest auto-carrier trailers behind it that any of them had ever seen. Even more amazing was that Antoine was behind the wheel, navigating the giant truck into the garage with surprisingly ease. Trust for the fun of it, the coyote tooted the air horn, it's ear-busting note echoing loudly throughout the warehouse.

"I theenk zis should be doeeng zee treek!" Antoine shouted over the engine as he hopped out of the cab to the ground.

"This thing is mondo-fucking-cool!"

"No it is not! I don't wanna ride in big old truck!" Sonia whined.

"Well sis, you can walk if you don't wanna ride with us" Manic stated.

"But zere eez just one small, how you say... probleemo."

"There's always a but," Sonic complained.

"Zis truck was meant for two occupants. At zee most you could feet four, two een zee seets and two een zee bunkeeng beds."

"That leaves ten of us! How are the rest of us going to fit in there?" Sonia asked.

"The same way ya study for tests in high school... CRAM!"

"Somehow I just knew you were going to say that..."

* * *

The plan was simple. They would drive via Route 101 to the facility and the contact, who so conveniently worked the night security shift, would let them in, give them the keys to all the cars they needed to get, which would already have the "packages" in them. From there they'd leave in the truck with the cars and park the truck at a specific location since it was actually on loan to Robotnik, then drive the cars to set locations, drop the packages, and return via the same route. It was estimated that this would take them until about 1 A.M. to complete this new sub-operation.

"OW! Watch your feet!" Sonia whined.

"You do realize there's _four_ of us sharing a bed meant for one, right?" Manic asked.

"Yes, Captain Obvious, I know that! Just keep your big feet to yourself!"

As Sonic had predicted, everybody had truly crammed into a space not meant for as many people that were in it. The three sibling hedgehogs plus their uncle had squeezed into the top bunk. On the bottom level sat Rouge and Shadow on one side of a small table with Knuckles and Julie-Su on the other, each group trying to keep as much difference from the other due to the hard feelings between them. Sitting on the floor in the small spaces between the bunk and wall on either side of the arch to the cab was Silver on the right and Tails on the left. Sitting back to back in the brief hall between the cab and bunks was Bunnie, who faced the beds, and Sally that faced the cab. Antoine was driving and Rotor sat shotgun since it was the only place he could fit comfortably due to his size.

"Hey Silver, you alright back there?" Rotor asked.

"Umm... no!"

"What's wrong?"

"I've got my ass stuffed into a space smaller than a sardine can! Everything below my waist is going to be numb by the time we get to the place!"

"Well, look on the bright side. Now at least you know how it feels to be like one of the frozen microwave meals that you like to eat all the time."

"Charming, Rotor. _Very charming_."

"And freaking hilarious, I might add," Sonic chimed in.

"Hey sugah-T'wan, about how much longah ya reckon until we reach where we're goin'?"

"I am theenkeeng zat becasue zere eez leetle traffeek zat we should geet zere by quarter past zee 'our."

"So in other words I gotta stay in this position for another fifteen minutes?" Silver complained.

"Seems that way" Sonia sighed.

"Well don't let it get ya down. It ain't all that bad. I got an idea! Antoine, this thing got a radio?" Manic asked.

"Oui."

"Well pop on some tunes, dude!"

"Now you're talkin'!" Sonic added.

Rotor took care of tuning the radio so Antoine could focus on driving the huge truck. For nearly five minutes they surfed the airwaves trying to find something other than late-night talk shows, soft jazz stations, and seemingly endless commercials.

"We're _waaaaaaiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiing_."

"There's diddly-squat on!" Rotor stated.

"By the time we find something we'll be there at this rate" Manic added.

"I'm down to the last few stations here... I think I found something."

_"Thanks for tuning in to 102.3-SADX for our all-night music block. Coming up next we've got a hit off of the album Sacred Love by Sting. Here's "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)."_

"Heh. Talk about ironic, huh?" Rotor said rhetorically.

Settling into the song all in attendance listened as the somber music and lyrics told a tale of a young man who brags about his skills as a car thief for his profession. As he drives along he thinks about what he's doing and ponders about who the owner of the car is and what kind of person that is. He pictures himself in that person's shoes, but then starts to think that somebody of that statue probably isn't faithful and uses the car to get to and from a mistress. This causes the young man to reflect about himself and his own girl. He thinks about how she asked him if they could go dancing tonight, but he turned it down to steal that car. As a result he wishes he was with her right now rather than being behind the wheel of the stolen car.

About four minutes later when the song had ended nobody said a thing. In some way, shape, or form that song fit everybody's situation. Realizing that enough had been done already, Rotor clicked the radio off without asking to do so. There were no objections.

"What are the chances a song like that would come on while we're doin' this, ya know?" Manic asked.

"Put a sock in it, bro" Sonic said quietly.

"Woah, what's your problem, dude?"

"...Nothing..."

The rest of Sonic's family didn't understand why his mood had suddenly changed. Tilting his head away and resting it on his knees he slyly looked down at Sally. Though she kept her face hidden behind her hair the whole time, during the song he could tell she'd looked up at him from time to time. Something was on her mind and she was trying to hide it.

* * *

Things were quiet for most of the remainder of the trip. After leaving Route 101 there was a short maze of suburban streets to follow until they'd reached the block the facility was on.

"L'attention, nous sommes arrivés."

The mood shifted in the cab of the truck from mild apprehension to acute alertness. Antoine made a loop around the property before pulling up to a rear entrance with a nearby guard station. Pulling up to the gate Antoine flicked the truck's lights and the gate slowly slid opening, allowing them to pull in. Driving towards the storage house Antoine made a hand gesture towards the guard, though nobody else could really see who the guard was or what signal he'd made. The waited outside the warehouse for a moment while it's door was opened, then they pulled in, turned off the engine and let the door shut, leaving them in complete darkness. There was a slight flicker of light in the structure of the lightning outside, followed by a intermediate blast of thunder.

"Sugah-Twan?..."

"Eet's okay. Just geeve eet a meenute."

There was another flicker of light, but this time from the lights on the ceiling. Not all of them went on, however, just enough to cast a faint luminescence into the building and make it possible to see all of the cars within. And there were a lot of cars inside.

"Wow... I thought this place was only gonna have maybe twenty cars here, not... about fifty" Rotor commented.

"Whatever zee case we should be getteeng out. Zee contact eez waiteeng."

Antoine was quick to get out while the others slowly filed out of the over-packed truck. As the team was stretching and making a few choice comments about the manner in which they'd traveled here there was a light knock on a side door of the building. Antoine motioned for everybody to stay put as he ran over and cracked open the door. An envelope was passed through and the team could hear another voice but couldn't make out who it was or what was said. Returning with the package Antoine motioned it was all clear.

"Zee packages 'ave been put eento zee cars zat we need a'ead of zee time. Zis enveelope 'as zee keys to all zee cars as well as where zay need to go."

"Where do they need to go?" Sally asked.

"Well... zere eez a good news and bad news weeth zat. Zee bad news eez zat zee dropoffs are all een deeferent places, some een town and some out 'ere."

"Figures."

"But zee good news eez zat zere are sept places zat zee packages are to go to."

"Say what! Sept locations?"

"It means seven, Sugah-Hog" Bunnie informed him.

"Oh. So then that means these fourteen cars are paired up into seven couples so that we can stay together in our teams, right?"

"Zat eez correct."

"Coolness. Then lets get to sorting the cars and haulin' ass outta here."

"I'll leeve zat to you. I must go 'ave a few words weeth Robotneek."

Antoine took a smaller envelope out of the larger, manila envelope the keys were in and stepped far off to the side. Meanwhile, Manic had taken the larger file and investigated its contents. Inside he found the fourteen sets of keys or various designs bound together with tape and a small tag attached to each with the model name. Taking out a set at random he found them to be a pair of Ferrari keys.

"Hmm... Woah dude! I'm keepin' this set for me and Antoine!"

"Which ones are they?" Sonic asked.

"Dayna and Pina."

"Well I know Pina since it was her that helped us find this place, but the other one I don't."

"Then look it up on the list, dude. I saw everybody else lookin' at it on the drive over. It'll get us outta here quicker if you'd actually use the damn thing."

"A'ight, damn. If you're that uptight about them how 'bout you toss me a set."

"Fine. Let's see... Here's a set of Lambos for ya. Diana and Gabriella."

From there Manic was quick to hand out the rest of the keys to the teams so they could pick them out amongst all the others in the building. Once that was done everybody accessed the photographs collected from a few days ago so they would know exactly what car they were looking for. At about this time Antoine finally finished with his call and rejoined the group.

"Everything's a go, dude. Got the keys all passed out and we all know who we're getting."

"Umm... wheech two deed you geet for us?"

"Dayna and Pina, the GTS/4 Daytona and P4/5."

"Magneefeek. Robotneek said zat I was to take zat one een parteekular."

"What were you talking about anyway, Ant? Any longer and we probably would have fallen asleep."

"Well... zere eez a problem."

"There always is," Sonic complained.

"What's the matter?" Sally asked.

"Well, Robotneek 'as 'ad some... unexpecteed veeseetors."

"The police?" Sonic asked.

"Non."

"G.U.N.?" Rouge asked.

"Oui."

"Well that's awesome, dudes! That means he's gonna get caught."

"No, 'e won't. Eet's 'eez connections zat are zere. Zee same peopole zat we are stealing zee cars for."

"Well... that sucks. What's that mean for us then, dude?"

"We can not go back to Robotneek's unteel 2 A.M."

"Woah, wait a sonic second! You mean to tell me we got sent on this trip just to be told not to come back!"

"I'm afraid eet eez so."

"_Greeeeeeaaaaaat_."

"This is starting to get a bit suspicious if you ask me" Knuckles commented.

"I was thinking the same thing. Sounds to me this was done on purpose" Shadow added.

"Yeah, we definitely got played by 'Buttnik. He knew they were coming and didn't want them to see us working on the job, otherwise they'd get scared and probably bail on him" Sonic insinuated.

"So now what do we do now?" Silver asked.

"Well we have to do something! Or are we, like, just going to stand here the rest of the night?"

"Preencess? What eez your opeenion?"

Sally took the time to take a good long look at everybody, her face suggestive of deep concentration. She ended up looking at Sonic. "Toss over one of those keys. We're moving out."

Things went relatively quiet from that point on, save for the sounds of the massive engines of the cars as each was carefully positioned on the racks of the auto trailer. In all the process took until roughly quarter to 1 A.M. Though they could have moved much faster, since they knew they had to so much time now things slowed down a little.

The only thing that ended up being positive about the whole situation was that since they'd used the semi-truck and loaded the cars inside and not out in the rain the nearby neighborhoods hadn't suspected anything out of the ordinary was occurring. With the truck finally loaded and secured there remained just one question.

"Are we really, like, going to have to squeeze into that truck again?" Sonia asked.

"No. You could ride inside your car on the trailer if you want" Manic suggested.

"Dammit!"

"Now now, that's not very lady-like" Sonic joked.

"Enough! Just get in and lets go!" Sally ordered.

"Um... okay. Wow."

Once again things became quiet. After the short trek back to to Route 101 and ten minutes heading even further out of town Antoine took a small exit off into an abandoned truck stop. Apparently this was were the truck, along with the "packages" in Manic and Antoine's cars were supposed to go. Although it had still been heavy on the way up, the rain lightened up some once they'd parked behind the dilapidated building.

"Eet eez lookeeng az eef zee rain eez becomeek lighter. Now eez zee time to go."

"Right" Manic said from the back of the truck, "here's what we'll do. Since me and Antoine are gonna stay here all of you hurry outside and climb up into your cars. Get the engines started while we're getting the ramps set for you to get off. The second you hit the ground get going. Too much activity in an abandoned place like this is asking for trouble. Questions?"

"What do y'all want us to do when we get to where we have to go with the stuff?"

"I know you won't believe this coming from my mouth, but... just wait. Keep out of sight, chill, and wait. That's all we can do" Sonic answered.

Everybody understood it. They'd all been tricked into a scenario that they thought would save time but was actually a ruse to make them lose time in the hopes of them not completing the job. So now the only thing they could do was wait out the delay and hope that it wasn't too late to finish the job. Taking advantage of the break in the weather the members of the team that were leaving now sprinted out and squeezed into the cars in the narrow space offered the support beams of the trailer. With all of the set Manic hurried out and using the trailer's custom designed hydraulic system lowered the ramps for them to exit. First away was Team Purple, shortly followed by Team White and then Team Cyan. These three teams circled around to take the return ramp to head back into the city for their deliveries. From there Manic went back into the truck and Antoine took over getting the cars down. Team yellow was first off, then Blue, and finally red. With only two cars left on the truck Antoine hurried back into the cab to join Manic, only to find him missing.

* * *

**(GREEN)**

"Maneek?"

"Back here, dude" he answered from the top bunk.

"I theenk you 'ave zee right idea" an answered in return, lying down in the bottom bunk. "I theenk zay all should get to zee desteenations een about feefteen minutes seence zey can go a lot faster zan zis truck.

"Yeah." Manic said with a heavy sigh. "Dude, can I ask you something?"

"Oui, of course."

"Did you think it was gonna be like this?"

"You mean zee job or my life?"

"Heh, both I guess. I think I can guess that you didn't think so."

"Oui."

"Me neither. Your life's going along normally and then WHAM, you're in a life or death situation. You take a job thinking you can handle it to help another and BAM, everything about it is ten times more difficult then you thought. Hell, I even end up falling in love with the girl than once chased my brother around! Explain that one!"

"I 'ear zat. Love eez one of zose theens zat you just put a defeeneetion to."

"That's for sure... I gotta tell ya, I really do love her. I don't know what it is. I mean, we are the complete opposite of one another. I'm the rough type, she's the petite type... I'm laid back, she's high strung... and don't even think about telling Amy I said that... and uhh... she's the cute one and I'm the ugly one."

"Zat eez a beet 'arsh on yourself, no?"

"Eh, I don't mind it. I'm totally stuck in the eighties, dude. She's told me that more than once, and yet-"

"Zere eez somtheeng zat keeps you two comeeng back to one another."

"_Yeah_... I take it that's what happened to you?"

"Oui."

"If you don't mind me asking... what was it about her that made ya go for it?"

"Well... She eez zee defeeneetion of zee opteemeest... she eez fun... she's cute... _très_ cute... and most of zee all, she eez open mindeed. I theenk zat eez why she got past zee flaws zat I 'ave."

"Yeah, same here."

"Do you theenk you weell ever marree 'er?"

"Hard to say... I mean, I guess it would be cool, but... I'm still a young dude. No reason to rush, ya know?"

"Zat eez true. And on zee topeek of rusheeng, seence we 'ave a spare moment, I am wanteeng to take a qweek nap, yes?"

"Yeah, me too. I'll set my comm for an alarm in say... thirty minutes? About 2:45?"

"Zat's good."

"Coolnees."

For the time being the two of them could relax. Even if the situation wasn't positive, at least they could revive a little bit of energy within themselves to carry on for the rest of the night. With how things were currently they were going to have to go full speed if they had any hopes of getting done on time.

Before he dozed off Manic took a quick look at a photo he kept in his fanny pack. It was of him and Amy. Other than himself and his siblings, she was on his mind the most.

* * *

**(CYAN)**

Manic's prediction of everybody reaching their destinations within a fifteen minute period was fairly accurate. With roughly forty five left until the return restriction would be lifted everybody had or nearly had arrived where they were supposed to go. This included Bunnie and Sonia, who were parked their red 250 GTO and yellow 288 GTO behind the city's equestrian race track. In fact, they'd managed to get inside the grounds where the barns were. To get it over with the two of them had taken the packages in their cars, both of which turned out to be disguised as bags of horse feed, and stored them in a shed at a particular barn, just as the instructions said.

Since it was still lightly raining and the two girls had been driving all night they decided to stretch their legs for a bit. Actually, Bunnie had decided to this more since she wanted to stay in the barn with the horses. Currently she was petting the neck of a gorgeous black racing stallion which, as irony would have it, was named "Steal Away." All of this did not sit well with Sonia, for obvious reasons.

"Oh, _ick_! Don't you smell that!"

"Shhh! Do you wanna to scare the horses?"

"Seriously though! How can you not smell that?"

"It's not that bad. They take good care of thoroughbred barns. But if it really bothers ya that much, you can go sit back in that big red car or yours."

"Hahahaha, no! That thing is tre grody! No air conditioning, no radio, no power steering or brakes, you can smell gas and oil in the car, and it's noisy as hell! Like, seriously! Who'd want something like that! You know what I overheard Manic say when we were back at the garage? He said that car was sold for 25 million dollars at one point! Who'd spend that much money on _that_?"

"Probably the same person who'd spend the same amount of money on one of these animals in this barn. It's just what people want, you know?"

"Yeah... Ya know, I've always wanted to ask you something. Since you mentioned what people want... how did you and Antoine figure out that you wanted each other?"

"Well... love isn't always easy to explain, but... I guess it was a combination of the fact that Antoine was there for me when I needed him to be, I could make him feel better about himself, and together we just get along. To be honest, early on I never saw myself with Antoine, but then all the right things happened and now..."

"You were going to say you were happy together."

"Yeah, but will all that's happened, a'hm worried if it might have somehow changed him from the Sugah-Twan I know to one I don't."

"I don't know how much this'll mean coming from me, but I don't think that you have to worry about that. I mean, I don't think that all of this won't have any effect, but once we save him from Robotnik and you two are back together everything will turn out."

"I showah hope so. And same for your brother."

"Oh don't worry about him. He's been in messes bigger than this before and things have turned out."

The stallion nickered quietly and stretched his snout out towards Sonia. She stepped back in fear and disgust.

"Oh will you come over and pet him already!"

"What if he bites me?"

"Ah've been with him to whole time. Haven't seen him do anything bad yet, have you?"

Sonia was nervous to approach the large animal, but once she had she cautiously ran a hand down his face. The animal responded with a quiet nicker.

"He's actually kinda cute... Hey, I just realized something! We're at a horse barn with two Ferraris which have a horse logo! How funny is that?"

Before bunny could answer the hose sneezed violently, covering Sonia's hair with a spray of thick mess. Bunnie could barely contain herself.

"Not a word, Bunnie. Not _one freaking word_."

* * *

**(WHITE)**

Rotor and Silver had been sitting in the back of rave club for a few minutes. Rotor had just returned from dropping two small boxes off behind a dumpster, as per instructions, and was about to get back into his red F40 when he noticed Silver sitting in his F50 with the same color as his name. He had a longing look in his eyes. Having suspected that something had been on his partner's mind all night Rotor truly wanted to find out what was up. Calmly walking up to the car he tapped its passenger window, only to be frozen in his place. Silver, having not seen him coming, used his PK powers out of panic and upon realizing who it was released his psychic grip.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry Rotor! I didn't know it was you!"

"Apparently so" Rotor joked getting into the car with Silver. "Nice to know that you can react that fast, though. Might come in handy later.

"Maybe. So what's up? Something on your mind?"

"Actually I was gonna ask you that. I saw ya looking at something while I was walking back."

Silver scowled a bit and turned away slightly. He'd meant for it to deter Rotor, but it only made him more curious.

"Come on, Silver. You know I'm cool. If something's on your mind you can tell me. I won't judge you."

"It's none of your business."

Rotor could only shrug. "Alright. Can't say I didn't offer, though."

Rotor was halfway through getting out of the car when something in Silver's mind made him speak up. "Blaze is going to break up with me."

"What?" he answered, whipping back around. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I make it up?"

"Oh man... I'm so... I mean I... Damn. I don't know what to think! I think I'd be just as surprised to hear that Sonic and Sally had hooked back up."

"That's very comforting. Thanks."

"Sorry. But seriously, did she say that she's not sure if she wants to break up, or was she just hinting about it?"

"She wants to do it for sure. After tonight, me and her are no more."

Silver started to sniffle slightly after saying that, an action that pulled Rotor's heartstrings a bit. "I can't even imagine what you're going though..."

"You got that right."

"Did she at least say why?"

"She said that she's not happy being with me. That I'm not focusing enough on her. That we'd be better off pursuing what we wanted rather than each other."

"Well, you have been devoted to your music. I can't fault her there. But you not focusing on her? I'm not so sure. I mean, didn't you ever do things with her? Talk with her, even?"

"Of course. But that's not what she meant."

"Then what did she mean?"

Silver sighed heavily, fighting back the tears in his eyes. "She meant that... she wants a more serious relationship. Up until now we've been kinda like a high school couple. We get together from time to time, do something fun, and enjoy something like puppy love I guess. She wants us to be more serious... be more emotional... be more intimate..."

"That's a really big step to take. Did you ever give her any sign that you wanted to get closer to one another?"

"I thought I was, but I guess not."

"Do you even want to?"

"Of course. For quite a while now I've wanted to."

"Well why didn't you say so?"

"It's not easy to tell somebody that."

"I know, but if you'd tried telling her how much you love her then-"

"That's not what I meant. She knows that already. What I meant was... I wanted to take things... to that _next level_."

"Oh... I, uh... I see."

"Yeah. But like she's said. I'm naive. I never know how to do things the right way."

"I don't believe that for on moment. Look how long you made your relationship last with her. Do you think if you just came clean with her it might change things?"

"... I don't know..."

"Silver, you're a good guy. Nobody will deny that. I don't pretend to be the love doctor, but I really would hate to see things end with you and her. All I can suggest if after we get done with this mission talk with her. Let her now how you feel and what you want to do. If she says no than at least you'll know that you leveled with her and that you told her the truth. Can you do that?"

Silver could only nod at this point. Wanting to give him some privacy Rotor gave Silver a pat on the shoulder and got out of the car. Returning to his own vehicles Rotor tried to get comfortable in the car's thin racing seats, a task that proved to be next to impossible. In the middle of this, however, Rotor's communicator beeped. It was from Silver.

_Thanks_

* * *

**(PURPLE)**

Of the three teams that went into the city Rouge and Shadow ended up with perhaps the best location to go to. They'd ended up at a set of docks used for a local yacht club, specifically a covered dry dock so they could stretch their muscles without worrying about the rain. The packages placement had been easy. Rouge easily flew the two parcels up into a huge dark metallic green yacht that looked more like a stealth plane for the water and placed them deep inside the engine room. Before she came back down from the vessel Shadow requested a moment to look around the boat. In actuality he'd been looking for a room designated for smoking which he did find. He took the time to use one of his two remaining cigarettes, though he didn't waste too much time so that Rouge didn't get curious and come looking for him.

Finishing up the roll of dried tobacco there were only two things left to do before returning to Rouge. On his way out he also passed the kitchen where he managed to find a bag of strong after dinner mints and took a few to try and cover up his breath. Reaching the upper deck he spotted a tri-fold pamphlet on a seat with the yacht's image on it. Noting its name and a few quick facts on it he found a ladder leading back to the ground and, true to his style, slid down it to the ground.

"That was hot" Rouge joked from behind him.

"Was it? It felt cool, actually."

Rouge giggled as he approached her. She was leaning against the driver's side of the white Lamborhgini Murciélago she'd chosen to be responsible for. Next to that was the black Ferrari Enzo that Shadow had chosen to drive. Stopping just short of her Shadow couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"What?"

"I just couldn't help but think that the way you're standing next to that car makes you look like some sort of model."

"Oh? Well, does it help if I do this?"

Rouge tossed her leather jacket aside and took a rather seductive pose on the front of the car. Shadow raised his eyebrows and grinned sheepishly.

"Yes, it does."

"Oh shut up" she teased, getting to her feet and pulling Shadow up to her. "You're just trying to impress me."

"Actually, I think you've got it the other way around."

"Oh, you!... Is there anything that I do that doesn't turn you on to some degree?" she asked playfully.

"Of course."

"What?"

"Anything that hurts you or saddens you."

Rouge kissed him on the cheek of that answer. "You always know the right thing to say. Did you know that?"

"I didn't always know, but thanks to you now I do."

"Thanks Shad... So what took you so long in up there? Did you try to figure out how to steal it?"

"Hmmhmmhmm... No, but I just wanted to look at it a little. Do you realize what that is?"

"Do I look like I know anything about boats?"

"That's the WallyPower 118. The damn thing costs between 16.5 to 25 million dollars depending on how it's optioned, has a top speed of 60 knots, or 70 M.P.H., and is basically a lounge for the water. Oh, and did I mention it has a kitchen?"

"What are you? A salesman or something?"

"Perhaps. I think I've taken a liking to this boat."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"No. I think that boat suits my personality quite nicely."

"Oh please! How the hell could you afford something like that? How could we afford that? I mean, we make a decent bounty with the nightclub, but not enough for something like that!"

"Who knows. Maybe we'll turn the club into a casino some day."

"Phft! Yeah, maybe if we make some connections with Donald Trump!"

"You never know."

"Geez. I'd rather see you buy something like that Enzo over there. I think you look so good in it."

"First off, you've said that about every car I've been in tonight and each time I've found a reason to the contrary. Secondly, though I do have a taste for Ferraris, that car is a glorified race car for the street, which is not my style at all. And lastly, it's still going to sell anywhere from upper six figures to a million and a half. Need I go on?"

"No. I guess for now we'll just have to settle for each other."

"Good answer."

Even with the rainy night the clouds had a way of reflecting the light of the city back down. In that dark blue light the aura around Rouge was too tempting to ignore. Shadow slowly moved in bur Rouge knew what he was up to so she pulled him in quickly, their lips locking together. For a moment everything was fine as they were lost in the pleasure of intimacy between them. And then it happened.

"What is it?" Shadow asked as Rouge pulled away from the kiss.

In the middle of their kiss Rouge and slipped a hand inside Shadow's trench coat to pull him in closer. As she did this she had to navigate around one of the guns Shadow had on him and inadvertently slipped inside one of the coat's inner pockets. Right away she knew hat one of the items was, the other she had an idea. Pulling out the contents she held a black Zippo lighter and a thin black metal case.

"What's this?"

Shadow's eyes widened slightly. There would be no talking his way out of this one. She'd caught him. He went to reach for the items to explain but she only pulled them away.

"I ask you a question. What is this?"

"...Open the case..."

It was just as she had expected. Inside she saw the remaining black, self-rolled cigarette. She also opened the lighter and flicked it, igniting the red flame. Flicking it back shut she stared at the two items for a moment and then looking up at Shadow. His face was blank.

"You're a smoker?"

"...Yes..."

"For how long? And why?"

"... A while..."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

"I don't remember how long. I just know it's been a while."

"Fine. But you still haven't said why."

"It relaxes me. It's kinda soothing. Helps take things off my mind."

"Like?"

"Whatever it is that happens to be bothering me."

"How much longer are you going to avoid telling me the truth?"

Shadow took a deep breath sighed, his face now looking a bit shameful. "Although this isn't always the case, most of the time... it's you."

"Me?... Hmm... So you take up inhaling carcinogenic smoke as a way to relive stress? Sounds a bit dumb, doesn't it? Especially for you."

For the first time in a long time Shadow felt shame and guilt for having kept a secret from Rouge. She gave the items back to Shadow since she no longer had a desire to touch them and could see she'd had an effect on Shadow.

"You know something? The fact that you took up smoking isn't what bothers me the most. It's the fact that you tried to keep it a secret from me that bugs me more."

"...What do you want me to do?..."

"I think you could start by apologizing."

Mustering up all the dignity he could, Shadow knew he had to repent for his cover-up. He took a pause to do so. Unbeknownst to him or Rouge the sky above was clearing, the clouds about to break, the moon desperately trying to peek through and cast its golden rays upon the city.

"...Rouge, I was wrong for what I did... Even if smoking doesn't effect me because of how I was created, it still has other effects that I didn't consider... I was even more wrong for not telling you about what I was doing, a truly costly mistake... But I want you to know that despite what I've done I still love you and that I always will... You've done a lot for me and I don't want something stupid like this to destroy us... Therefore, for what I've done, I assure that I-"

He never got to finish the sentence. During his apology the clouds had broken overhead and the moon now cast its hue upon the town. By complete fate Rouge was standing at such and angle that the newly unveiled moon reflected in her eyes. Since he was standing so close to her he could see this reflection clearly. But that wasn't all he saw. There was some sort of strange distortion of the moonlight in her eyes. And then he saw it.

"Well?"

"Hmph..."

"What?"

"Seems I'm not the only one with a secret."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've got contact lenses on, Rouge."

"What? No I don't."

"I just saw the moon reflect in them. You've always assured me your vision was spot on. Care to explain?"

All of the disappointment and insistence in Rouge's face vanished. She frowned and sat against her car, crossing her arms and looking away. All of a sudden it seemed that Shadow had tapped into something that truly bothered her.

"I might be going blind."

"What?" he answered, a jolt shooting through his system and his face lit with concern. "Blind? How do you know? How could it even be so?"

"Haven't you ever heard the cliché blind as a bat?"

"But, isn't that just a saying?... No, I suppose not... Rouge, I-"

"There's no need to be sorry. This is something I knew could happen to me for a long time. I just didn't think it might occur so soon."

"But are you sure that's what this is?"

"No... It could be something else, some other common eye condition, but I don't know yet. All of this came on abruptly so pin-pointing a problem has been hard. But not nearly as hard as..."

"Keeping it form me."

Rouge couldn't even look at shadow anymore. The hypocrisy of the situation was too much to take. That's why it came as such a surprise when Shadow embraced her tightly, nuzzling deep against her neck.

"Shadow?"

"I'm sorry, Rouge. And I know you are too. I don't have to hear you say it. And I swear on my life I'll be there for you to help you find out what's wrong with your eyes."

She didn't have to answer. Retuning the act that Shadow had given to her was all she had to do to let him know she was on his side and that, above all else, she needed him.

* * *

**(RED)**

Outside the city the other teams had long since taken care of dropping off the deliveries and were now just taking advantage of the down time, even if it was going to make things more difficult later. Such was the case with Knuckles and Julie-Su. Their route had taken them to a small motel next to a cemetery. In the middle of those grounds a was an empty grave, the location that the packages were dropped. For safety's sake they decided to push a bit of dirt over the packages to keep them hidden. With both of them working at it they did this in only a few minutes. After that the two returned to their cars. Julie stated she wanted to nap and offered for Knuckles to join her in the car. He declined, a surprise to her.

Once she was asleep Knuckles laid back upon the damp rear body channel of the red Countach he'd acquired. He pulled his hat down over his eyes and put his arms behind his head to prop it up. His original intent had been to try and catch a nap, but suddenly something came over him. The discomfort of laying on an object not meant to be slept on, the dampness of a recent rain, the smell of the air, the sounds of the environment, and the reclined position for just a moment made him feel like he was back home on the floating island, guarding the Master Emerald like he had for his life. It made him think about how his life had progressed until this point in time, all the things he'd experienced, all the things he hadn't experienced, his triumphs and his regrets, his desires and his dreams. But most of all in the thoughts of his life one thing stuck out more than any of the others. Having just been in a cemetary made him reflect upon his deceased father. The very thought of this made the inner brim of his hat begin to catch then newly formed tears leaking from his eyes.

Though she'd tried to sleep Knuckles' peculiar behavior kept her from doing so. Exiting the purple Miura she was responsible for she could see Knuckles lying on the back of his car. When she walked up to him he didn't acknowledge her he was so lost in thought. She was even able to pull his hat off of him and he didn't notice. Only when she quietly called his name did his eyes snap open and see her.

"Oh, Julie. Can't sleep?"

"No."

"Something wrong?"

"Are you alright?"

"Huh? Of course. Why?"

"Knux... you've got tears stains down your muzzle."

The red echidna cocked his head, thinking maybe it was a joke. But when he rubbed his cheeks he felt the thin streams that had cut through his tan muzzle. "Huh... I guess I was. Funny, I didn't even know I was. Weird, huh?"

The was a forlorn look in Julie's eyes. He saw it. He knew what she was thinking and vice verse. Sliding over Julie joined Knuckles on the back of the Countach. She put one of her robotic arms around him and leaned against him to let him know she was there for him.

"You can see right through me, can't you?"

"More like I understand you."

"Yeah... you're the smarter of the two of us. I'll give you that."

Gazing up to the sky Knuckles gazed upon the stars as more and more became visible as the clouds moved out. Deep within his soul that seem feeling welled up again. Julie could sense his distress and held onto him tighter, hoping that she could get him to admit how he was feeling.

"Ya know, Julie... every time I look up at the night sky I find myself looking for something... some sort of sign that my dad is up there, watching over me... and you.. and anybody else close to us... I know if he were here right now and knew I was doing this he'd try to beat some sense into me, but... part of me says that somehow I could have convinced him that I had to do. I know he would have said I shouldn't do it out of honor, but... somehow I just know I could have convinced him that this was something I had to do... If only I'd had the chance... the time to... The-"

Emotion finally overcame the battle-hardened echidna. He buried his face into Julie's shoulder, sobbing and sniffling, his warm tears dripping onto her jacket. She gave him an affectionate nuzzle to the head to let him know she empathized with him.

"I miss him, Julie... I miss him so damn much..."

"I know, Knux. I know" she said soothingly.

"Why did that have to happen to him?... Why so soon?... He had so much life left in him, life that we could have spent together and enjoyed... I miss him..."

Knuckles couldn't talk anymore after that. Julie also couldn't and didn't talk either. She too was crying, knowing just how much this hurt the one she felt so close to. It only confirmed that even with everything they'd done all night, when it came right down to it there were things far more troublesome to be thought about.

* * *

**(YELLOW)**

The mood was a bit lighter with Tails and Chuck. Their deliveries ended up being at an Athletics Center, meaning it had things like a jogging track, pools, gymnasiums, and for youths, a play ground. The packages were snuck inside one of the gyms and dropped off without incident. On their way back out the two of them had paid a visit to the playground, which surprisingly had been Chuck's idea. All he'd wanted to do was reminisce on what it felt like to be a kid, but Tails felt inclined to act like a kid. A few head-first dives down a sliding board and leaps from a swing set encouraged Chuck to see if he could still climb a jungle gym and make it across a log roll, which despite his age he completed. But their fun was cut short once they'd made it to a see-saw. Getting lost in the fun of trying to go up and down as fast as possible, Tails got complacent as to where his appendages were and the device slammed down upon them. Reacting out of pain Tails dived off the contraption, sending Chuck crashing down to the ground slamming to the ground. The two had since hobbled the way back to their cars were they sat with both soreness and fits of snickering.

"You alright there, Tails?"

"Yeah. I mean it hurts, but it's far from the worst injury I've had. I'm just worried about you. That was a hard hit you took."

"Eh! I might be an old hedgehog, but I was built to last."

"Still, you have to be careful."

"Yeah, but if you're going to leave in fear and not do anything then why bother. Given what happened to me during the war I'm all for living to the fullest. And I think I do a damn good job of that given my age."

"Just about as good a job as that 350 GT you've been driving."

"Yeah, I gotta admit I like this car. But I'm sure you like that fighter-plane-looking Reventón over there."

"You got me there. Hard to believe that the company that made this once made things like that, ya know?"

"You're saying this to a life-long mechanic? Things change a lot in a year, let alone the forty-something years between that car and this one."

"And these days things change even faster than that. I know this sounds silly coming from somebody young like me, but sometimes I think things are moving too fast."

"I hear that. I mean, what's the rush? Stop and enjoy things from time to time, huh?"

"Yup."

"But I have to say that despite everything happening in this crazy world, some things will always stay constant."

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, how gosh-darned smart you are."

"Aw shucks..."

"Hey, you asked. But really, I'm a firm believe that no matter how hard we try to change, there are some things that we just can't change. Take Sonic for example. How long have I been his uncle and he's still the same as the first time I saw him when he was a baby."

"I know, huh? It's amazing that despite all the shit he's been through he's still as cool as he is. But then again... I can kinda relate to that. Maybe things are different for him, but I've found that the more hardships I go through, the more I tend to enjoy life afterwards."

"And you're lucky to have that gift. Many people crumble and give up hope after a bad time in their life and are never the same again. At least you can keep your chin up and keep going on."

"Yeah... I guess that's Sonic's little contribution to me."

"And to me too. In fact, I believe everybody he's met he's had that effect on, even if they don't know, see, or use it right away."

"Yeah, he's a cool dude."

"Way past cool."

They shared a laugh at the light point, but doing so only reminded them of the aches and pains they'd acquired.

* * *

**(BLUE)**

Of all the teams that had departed from the rendezvous point Sonic and Sally had the most remote location to go to yet they got there the fastest with a travel of time of just under ten minutes. They'd ended up at a camping resort of the edge of the woods where earlier Bunnie and Sonia had been lost. Luckily they didn't have to venture too deeply into the woods not only for fear of getting lost, but the pair of high performance sports cars they were driving would not be able to handle any type of difficult terrain. They lucked out by finding a paved road used for park rangers, emergency transports, and any type of landscaping vehicles as well. Following this road to its end they stopped in a gravel lot on the edge of a small lake. On the edge of that lake was a small dock with a row boat. Due to Sonic's extreme fear of water it had been up to Sally to get into the boat and row out to a specific point and sink the packages into the water.

After that there had been no communication between Sonic and Sally. Sonic had retired to his blue Diablo GT, choosing to sit in the passenger seat for more room and draping his legs onto the driver seat for comfort. He'd wanted to sleep on the outside of the car but it was still wet. He'd also wanted to listen to some music, but the car wasn't manufactured with a radio. For nearly a quarter of an hour it remained this way, then at random Sonic woke up and checked his watch.

"Damn... still thirty minutes to go..." he said groggily.

Glancing up over the passenger door window he tried to see if Sally was alright. She'd parked her car in the opposite direction, making her passenger face Sonic's. She was also sitting in a similar position as he, meaning all he could see was her dark red hair through the rain bead covered window. Shrugging it off as her being stressed over being the new leader and the frustration of the situation and slid back down into the seat, trying to fall back into slumber.

But over in the silver Gallardo SE Sally was anything but relaxed. She was holding herself tense, rubbing her fingers together nervously and trying to deal with the semi-nauseous feeling in her stomach. But this was nowhere near as intense as the war going on in her mind. She'd developed a headache the conflict of a decision she was trying to make was so intense.

_"Should I really do this?... Hell, can I even do this?... I mean, how's he going to take it?... What will he think of me?... Will he even believe me?... Would he have the ability to trust me?... And what if I didn't tell him?... Then there'd be no harm done... Things would just keep going on without a problem... But then I'll be the one hurt because I didn't level with him!... Come on Sally, use your head!..."_

That thought lead to an idea. Pulling a coin from her pocket she was going to let chance decided for her. If heads, she'd use her head and do what she had to. If tails, she'd just sit on the issue like she had been. Her stomach twisted into a knot when she saw what the result was.

"Oh God..." she whispered then let out a deep sigh. "... Here we go."

Pulling the passenger door handle as gently as possible she opened it with little noise. She did the same closing it by pushing the door shut as much as possible, then with a quick shove it clicked shut. Taking a breath she approached the car Sonic was in. Her hand paused in mid air while she built up the courage to tap on the glass. The first time she did it was so light even she couldn't hear it. But the next time was enough to stir Sonic into consciousness. Since the electric were off Sonic had to open the car's scissor door to hear her.

"Hey Sal. What's up?"

"Move aside. There's something I need to discuss with you."

Pulling himself into the driver's seat Sally stepping in with him and shut the door. For a moment all Sally could do was stare forward as Sonic looked on.

"Well?"

"Just wait... I don't know how I'm going to put this."

"If it's that hard to say this must be mondo-important."

"It is..."

"Well look, just give it to me straight. No need to complicate things. That is, unless... they already are complicated."

"They are."

"Oh. Then just pick a point to start with and we'll see where it goes from there."

Once again there was a pause from Sally, but her face suggested she was lookin for a place to start. "Tonight has been one of the most difficult things I'e ever had to go through..."

"Duh! I think that's how everybody feels."

"Please, you don't understand."

"Yes I do, Sal."

"You... _do_?"

"Of course."

"Then... you know how I feel?"

"Of course. Didn't take a genius to figure it out now did it?"

"Well... umm... I'm surprised that you could see how I felt."

"Well think about it. You go for six years without being in a leading situation on a mission and then POOF! You get drafted into one at the last minute. It sucks. Trust me, I know. It's how I felt the past few days."

Sally shut her eyes in disappointment and held her face in her hands. The deep sigh she let out into them indicated to Sonic that something was still askew.

"Sal?"

"You damn idiot... Can't you see _anything_! Can't you read between the lines!" she shouted. "Is it even possible for you to live life not on a whim, or are you just so damn ignorant that even the most obvious things go right over your head!"

"What the hell are you talking about! Are you saying you're pissed because we fell for Robotnik's little time dealy trick?"

"That's fly shit compared to what I'm talking about!"

"Oh, is this some sort of guilt trip over you having caused so much trouble earlier today! You feeling bad because you were the bad guy for once or something!"

"YOU REALLY ARE AN IDIOT, DO YOU KNOW THAT! YOU'D BELIEVE ANYTHING EVEN IF IT WERE AN OUTRIGHT LIE!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN! ARE YOU HIDING SOMETHING FROM ALL OF US THAT IS IMPORTANT!" When Sally didn't answer right away it only angered Sonic further. "**WELL ARE YOU!**"

Only then did Sonic realize how quickly has temper had shot through the roof. Sally slouched back into her seat nad faced away from Sonic, inclining him to think she was about to ditch on him.

"I'm am hiding something from you. But _only_ you... Do you remember the conversation we had a few nights ago?"

"You mean the one in the freezer at Rouge's? The one about how you thought you were pregnant but were really dieing from stress your body had been under when... _Sal_... are you going to tell me that you lied about the fact that I wasn't a father?"

"I was going to tell you that everything I said that night... was a lie."

Every blue strand of hair on Sonic's body stood straight up at her confession. "You lied?"

"Yes."

"About all of it?"

"_Everything_."

"So... you never might have gotten pregnant by me... you never had all of your systems go haywire inside you... and you never laid dieing slowly and painfully... none of that ever happened?"

"No."

Confusion plagued the hedgehog's mind as he recalled everything she'd said that night and how serious all of it had affected him. Now as those events replayed in his head and he realized they weren't true a form of relief did come over him, but it was not a complete feeling. There was still one thing that didn't make it all add up.

"Sal, I... Huh... _Wow_... I really don't know what to say here. I mean, I've had a lot of people tell me lies in my life, but I don't think I ever had somebody lie to me like that. What were you trying to accomplish telling me that?"

"I just... had to see something."

"What did you have to see?"

"How... how you'd react."

"How I'd react? How did you think I'd react? How do you think anybody would react to a story like that?"

"I didn't know... but after seeing how you took it I realized something..."

"And what would that be?"

Perhaps out of an old smug habit or just as a sly way to get an answer Sonic leaned on the center console with his arm to prop up his head. She wasn't looking at him, but he could see the reflection of her face in the window. What he saw caused a feeling of both apprehension and suspense as the way she looked was unlike any way he'd seen her look before. It was as if she were going to plead for her life.

"After you left I thought you'd be out of my mind for good... I thought it was just going to be a matter of time before I could to learn to live without you... to have a hundred reasons to not even think about you,... I tried everything that I could to get my heart to forget about you... But after all this time..."

When Sally looked around there was something in her eyes that haunted him. What was it about those eyes that made him feel the way he did? The way she looked at him was like when they were still together, back during the war when the only other thing besides victories that got them through the war was their feelings fro each other. And thanks to the now bright moonlight it was clear that tears were welling in the corners of her eyes.

"... I still can't let go... Even after all this time it's just no use... I know now there's no way to chase you from mind because..."

She leaned over closer to Sonic so that they were just mere inches apart. Though his mind told him to move away, something kept Sonic right were he was, his gaze locked with hers. For a moment her wondered if she was going to do what he thought she was going to do.

"In every part of me... there's still a part of you."

There they sat looking at each other. Longing for each other. Yearning for each other. And suddenly they found themselves unable to hold it back any longer. As surely as the force between two magnets pulls them together, the power of old love brought their bodies together. Their arms locked into a welcoming bond as their lips met, releasing a desirous tension that for six years had infested itself deep within their souls, longing to bring themselves back two laid out inside the car, stretching across the center console and seats. It was far from comfortable, but the comfort they experienced between each other made everything else irrelevant.

When finally they broke, their kiss still burning on each other's lips and tears streaming down both their cheeks there was only one thing that could be said.

"I love you, Sonic..."

"And I love you, Sally... I never stopped... and I never will..."

Only emotions and actions were needed to convey feelings after that. The ex-lovers stumbled their way out of the car and over to a spot that gave them an unobstructed view of the lake where the moon and starry sky reflected beautifully. There they collapsed to the ground in each other's arms, trying to pour every ounce of emotion possible through their lips to each other. They were so lost in their love that Sally didn't seem to notice that she'd left her supercomputer back in her car, nor did Sonic notice that he was lying on soaking wet grass. But none of that mattered to them now. All that did matter was that being by this lake in each others arms took them back to the night when their relationship had gone to the level that would six years later put them where they were now. That night sealed the fact that their love would be painted on their hearts, scrawled upon their souls, and etched upon their memories then and forever onward.

* * *

**(GREEN)**

Twenty minutes passed and the world went about its business. This included Robotnik, who had concluded his dealing with his connections in town slightly earlier than predicted. Other than those at Robotnik's headquarters, only one other person knew about this.

A faint conversation made Manic stir from his slumber. His clouded eyes tried to focus in on the time on his communicator. He was surprised to see that it was nearly 2 A.M. and that he'd slept much longer than he had originally intended. Coming out of his deep sleep he could make out Antoine talking, though to whom or to on what device he couldn't be sure. He could hear Antoine end the conversation and then come back into the bunks.

"Ah, you 'ave woken up."

"I didn't wan to, trust me. Damn, I don't even felt like I slept."

"Same 'ere."

"Who was that you were talking to?"

"Eet was Robotneek. We can geet goeeng now."

"For real?"

"Oui."

"Fuckin-A! Let's haul some ass and burn some gas!"

"Oui! Let's, 'ow you say, put zee metal to zee pedal!"

"Metal to the pedal... Ya know what? That's close enough for me."

"Impressionnant. Nous permettre d'aller."

Working quickly they got the final two cars onto the ground, secured the big rig. With that done all there was left to do was to get the word out.

"Alright dude, let's tell everybody the good news."

"I am theenkeeng zat Preencess Sally should do zat. She eez zee leeder, after zee all."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll let you do that while I lower this convertible top. I totally need some breeze in my hair."

"But what eef eet eez to be raineeng again?"

"I doubt it. But if it does, then I'll just go faster. I heard if you drive fast enough the rain doesn't get into the car."

"Now you are soundeeng like Soneek."

"Is it _that_ obvious?"

They both smiled, knowing it was true. But Manic was right, with the delay they had endured it was time to seriously get moving. Not wanting to waste another second Antoine got into the one-of-a-kind red P4/5 and, along with Manic's red GTS/4, they sped away from the old truck stop, up the ramp to the city-bound side of Route 101, and then mashed the accelerators down, letting the pair of V12's do what they did best. As they gained speed Antoine dialed into Sally's channel on NICOLE.

* * *

**(BLUE)**

The couple sat upon the edge of the dock on the edge of the lake, overlooking the sight before them. Nothing could keep them form holding one another now.

"Just like six years ago, eh Sal?"

"Hm-hmm."

"I can still remember that night like it was yesterday..."

"Me too."

"Do you regret it?"

"Of course not."

"Even with how we've ended up? Like this?"

"Do you think I would be this close to you if I wasn't sure?"

"Good point. But you might not want to get too close. I might have picked up a tick or two from that grass we were lying in."

Sally couldn't help but laugh. It feel good to do so after the long night so far, but even more so to help heal her old wounds on her soul. The same went to Sonic.

_"Preencess Sally? Are you reedeeng me?"_

"Loud and clear."

_"Robotneek 'as geeven us zee green light. Maneek and I are on zee way back. Eef you could tell zee others, zat would be great."_

"You got it."

_"Très bon. Antoine out."_

The old couple sighed and looked at each other, knowing that neither of them wanted to go back to work.

"I guess we gotta hit the road, Sal."

"Yup."

"I sure as hell don't want to, though. I just want to stay here."

"I know, Sonic. But once we get this done and that bastard Robotnik is where he belongs, then we'll have all the time in the world to catch up."

"Sal... are you saying you want to-"

"Yes. I want to give us another try."

They couldn't help but kiss as they stood up form the docks and walked back to their cars. Before getting in Sally dailed the group channel to deliver the words everybody ahd been waiting for.

"Listen up everybody. We've been given the clearance to start working again. You can start heading back to the drop off. We've lost a lot of time all thanks to Robotnik, but it doesn't matter. Of anybody on this planet he should know that when you push the Freedom Fighters back we only come back stronger than before. I know that we've all hated doing this job and that none of us want to continue, myself included. But over this past hour I've come to realize that dwelling on that which brings us down will only do just that. That is why, starting now, I want us all to start focusing everything we have on this job and showing Robotnik once and for all that we can not be stopped. We will finish this job, we will take him down, and we will save those that matter to us most. Sally out."

Knowing it would be the last chance to do so for a while Sonic and Sally embraced once more, sharing an emotional kiss.

"Not a bad speech, Sal."

"What do you want for impromptu?"

"Say what?"

"Never mind. You brain is too slow to figure it out."

"Oh, you did _not_ just call me slow!"

"Uh yeah, I kinda did."

"Oh it's on now. I'll show you who's slow with my Diablo over here."

"Is that so? Well I'll just so you that my little Gallardo can beat you because the underdog has been proven to win more often."

"Yeah, we'll see."

"Hey Sonic? You forgetting something?"

Sally held up her hand and made a gesture that Sonic knew right away. He did the same and they both gave each other the thumbs up.

"Let's do it to it, Sal."

"Let's do it to it, Sonic."

The sound of a combination of twenty-two cylinders firing away echoed loudly throughout the forest as they drove back down the short access road and back to the main entrance. They kept their speeds down while in the area because at this time of night they could easily draw attention to themsevles. But after a few short winding roads and hills they arrived back at the netrance to a very distant part of Route 101. With his mind still on racing Sonic sped around Sally and hit the entrance ramp first.

"Bye Sal!" he said on his communicator as he reached the top of the ramp.

No sooner did Sonic slam the gas than his two-wheel drive system failed to get traction on the still wet roadway and he spun wildly on the empty highway. Coming to a stop he watched as Sally roared by, her car's ten cylinders cackling at him as she drove away.

_"Bye Sonic."_

"Heh! No chance!" he answered as he got going yet again.

Elsewhere across the city and surrounding suburbs the rest of the groups sped away from their drop off points to return to the most important drop off of all. Antoine and Manic lead the charge on Route 101. A little ways behind them the oldest and youngest of the group joined them. Even further back the pair of echidna's and their noisy cars had probably woken up those in the graveyard next to them they left so fast as it was the only way to improve their moods. And though they were the farthest behind Sonic and Sally were quick catching up.

Back in the city Bunnie and Sonia exited the race track barns as quietly as possible, then let the full power of the Italian stallions they drove. Silver and Rotor were able to make a quick get away since the nightclub they were at was still dancing away and nobody would notice them. And Shadow and Rouge put their own issues aside as they patched out from the docks in their mixed pair of automobiles to get things moving again.

But fate had it's own ideas, as it had during the whole week.

* * *

In a dark corner of the city in an even darker dojo a purple chameleon was on his feet. Although it had been well over twenty-four hours since he'd ended the life of Nack the Weasel, Espio was still not right. Aside from the mental anguish he felt there were physical maladies as well. From the deprivation of food, drink, and comfort for over a day straight Espio felt quite ill and lethargic. To try and get himself going again he resorted to some light training moves and yoga, along with a few scant pickings of nourishment he could find in an old cupboard. But this was hardly enough and a dizzy spell put the reptilian ninja on the floor.

"NO! I can not give into weakness! I must force myself to go on! I must... wooo..." he slurred, another spell htting him. _"Alright... perhaps this is a sign that my punishment it over. But at this hour there are no locations open that I could get the type of nourishment I require and desire. Unless... yes, or course. I can go there. And it is surely still open."_

Getting to his feet again and using up the last bit of miniscule food supplies he had at his dojo Espio walked to a tall closet. Inside were various uniforms and pieces of equipment. But in particular he pulled out a black riding suit and matching open face helmet. He also plucked a small set of keys from a hook. After locking up the building Espio proceeded to a small shed where inside was a possession only he knew about, his black Kawasaki Ninja 650R sport bike. It was a small, haunched bike with nothing really eye-boggling about it, but that was fine for Espio given his stature and desire to stay unnoticed. Mounting the motorcycle he started its engine to let it warm up. While waiting for that he took out his iPhone, a gift that all members of the Chaotix had received courtasey of Vector. He needed the address to get to where he wanted to go so he plugged the necessary information into an address search engine. While it was calculating the directions Espio pocketed the device, slipped his helmet on, and cruised slowly to the edge of the driveway. A chime indicated the information had been found and read as follows:

_**Destination: Club Rouge  
**_

_**Destination Address: Corner of East 123 St. and Emerald Avenue **_

_**Destination Phone Number: 237-618-2001**_

Espio knew where it was and knew quite a few ways to get there. For a moment he thought about taking Route 101, the quickest way there. But he'd been inside all day and didn't feel like going inside again soon. So instead, after negotiating some city streets he arrived to an entrance to Route 280. Opening the throttle on the motorcycle Espio jolted down th empty roadyway, instantly feeling a form of relief as the thrill of speed and wind in his face and the power to control the machine below him put the thoughts of yesterday's events out of his mind. All he knew was he couldn't wait to get to Rouge' club for a stiff drink and a nourishing meal.

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

**Just a few precautionary acknowledgments I'd like to make:**

**- iPhone **name and device property of** _Apple Inc_.**

**- ****"Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)" **and album title "Sacred Love" are propert of _Sting_ and _A&M Records_.

**- ****"Painted On My Heart"** property of _The Cult and Lava/Atlantic Records._

_- _**WallyPower 118** property of Wally Yachts.

Above items used for the extreme apprecation of their creation. No copyright infringement intended nor is there any personal benefit to be gained.


	25. Muscling Onward

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**:

Alright readers we're ready to go with the next chapter of TFTA! Only thing that I want to say is that I had a tremendous amount of fun writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did creating it. Since it is lengthy I will advise that if the bright screen bothers you use the new "light/dark" feature that they've introduced for readers (I believe it's in the top right of the screen). It really does help.

All criticisms/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged as always. Also, feel free to look up this chapter's featured automobiles in an image search engine.

* * *

**_Red Team_**

**Knuckles - ****1970 Plymouth 'Cuda AAR – _Arlene _**

**Julie-Su - ****1970 Dodge Challenger T/A – _Charlene _**

**_Blue Team_**

**Sonic - 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C – _Colby_ **

**Sally - 1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro 427 – _Cameron_**

**_Yellow Team_**

**Tails - 1963 Chrysler Turbine – _Toni_**

**Chuck - 1909 Stanley Steamer Model R – _Stacey _**

**_Green Team_**

**Manic - ****1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427 ****Coupe – _Raven _**

**Antoine - 1962 Quandt Group Model 770 Amphicar – _Amber_**

**_Purple Team_**

**Shadow - 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible – _Bella _**

**Rouge - 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz – _Bianca _**

**_White Team_**

**Silver - 1970 Plymouth Superbird – _Birdy _**

**Rotor - 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500KR – _Kingsley _**

**_Cyan Team_**

**Sonia - 1939 Vincent HRD Series A Rapide – _Vinita _**

**Bunnie - 1950 Harley Davidson Panhead – _Hayley _**

* * *

**Chapter 25** - **The Autokrieg (Part 6) - Muscling Onward**

A half hour had passed since the team's forced hour delay but the team was only just getting back to work. However, those thirty minutes weren't spent poorly. On the contrary they were used to make the rest of the night go as efficiently and quickly as possible. The idea was that, effective immediately, they would tackle the most difficult and/or furthest cars that were left first. From there they would work progressively inward back towards the city until only those within the city limits were left. The thought was that although they might lose more time now by tackling the difficult tasks now later on they could move faster as they progressed to easier ones. Plus, by leaving only the inter-city cars for the end when everybody would surely be tired they would have as far to go and could bounce back to another car without losing as much time. With their first true sets of plans laid out everybody, even Shadow, felt a sense of certainty that this near impossible heist could be completed after all.

But little known to them, or just about anybody in the world for that matter, far outside town on a giant island in the sky was somebody that felt anything but certain. Ever since Knuckles and Julie-Su had left she'd been left to keeping herself busy by either sleeping or letting her imagination run wild. For most of the night this worked just fine. However when the rains came she she retreated inside Tails broken down jet that was still on the island and was left open, per Tails' instructions, for her to use as cover or defense as necessary. During a nap through the rainstorm she'd had a dream of her and Silver. She couldn't remember much but she did know that throughout it she felt happier than ever before and that right before it ended she was pleading for it not to in her unconscious mind. From that point on Blaze's mind was in a frenzy and she often found herself pacing about the top of the shrine around the Master Emerald.

_"I've already made up my mind! I told him it was over! I need something better in my life! I need to be with somebody who's going to go somewhere! I need... Silver... He has been faithful to me after all this time... and he **is** cute... not to mention he was terribly sad when I told him I wanted to separate... Maybe I should... NO! **DAMMIT!** I won't do this to myself! He's committed to his career! Not to me! It just won't work out! I can't!"_

**"That is not true."**

Blaze actually jumped into the air at the voice. In her palms two swirling spheres of fire erupted, ready to be fired at the threat. But she quickly realized that there was absolutely nobody around. Moreover, the voice seemed to have a slightly distant, echo to it, like it was coming from another dimension. These facts only heightened the cat's awareness as she scanned for any possible intruders.

"Where are you! Show yourself! NOW!"

**"Goodness... I have rarely seen such despair in a soul so young."  
**

Blaze flinched again. This was truly unnerving to her. "Why are you here!"

**"I can sense your feelings. You are deeply troubled."**

Whatever was there could read her mind. There was no such thing as safety in this situation."I will find you if you continue to hide from me!"

**"I am not a threat to you."**

"Why should I believe you?"

**"Because I've been with you all along."**

Now Blaze was getting slightly afraid. How she could not have realized she wasn't alone all night was beyond her. "Where are you?" she asked in a cautious voice.

**"Right behind you."**

Blaze whipped around, her flame spheres whipping about in her palms. Initially she saw nothing but the Master Emerald, but looking deep within its green aura she could see a set of light blue eyes. How they could be inside them gem was unknown to her, but there was no denying they were there. Although it went against every one of her instincts, Blaze lowered her guard just a little.

"Who are you?"

The blue eyes vanished from within the gem and in front of it the body of a reddish-peach echinda with tribal attire materialized right before her. Lost in confusion and awe Blaze let her palmed flames extinguish as the being opened its blue eyes.

"My name is Tikal."

"I... I'm Blaze. How... did you get here? And why?"

"My soul has been encased within the Master Emerald for millennia. For all that time I have seen many troubled souls come and go, but rarely have I had a chance to confront them."

"I don't understand. Why would you do such a thing to yourself? And why are you doing it now?"

"I did so to try and comfort a tormented soul from long ago. It took many generations, but in the end I succeeded. Since then I have been hoping to do the same for another."

"You mean Knuckles?"

"No. He has already confided in somebody that can comfort him more than I."

"Then who do you want to help?"

"You."

Blaze was taken aback. "Me? But... you don't know anything about me... do you?"

"I do not know specifics, but I can sense that you are in turmoil over the feelings you have for another. I have seen it before."

"I am... but I shouldn't be! I'm doing the right thing! I'm not happy with... well, the one I was with!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's blatantly obvious! He's absorbed in a futile career and I don't feel like we're going anywhere anymore. What is there left for me?"

"The only thing that is obvious is that you are looking at your relationship in terms of you/me, not a we/us. You ask what's left for you and say that you're not happy. Did you ever consider perhaps this isn't just the other's problem?"

Blaze was taken aback by the spirits observation. "You mean... I caused this?"

"You misunderstand me. You have caused nothing, at least not yet. I sense that you are considering breaking ties with your love, but have not yet done so. And I did not say that you were the problem, rather I asked could it be that there are issues on both sides of the relationship?"

"I... I don't know. I mean, I guess I am a bit withdrawn sometimes... and I can be a bit secretive of how I feel and think... and sometimes I can I'm a bit set in my ways..."

As her thoughts streamed from her mouth reality began to strike her. The words of the mysterious echinda made her wonder if she'd been focusing too much on how Silver was treating her rather than the other way around. Folding her arms across herself she stared off into the night as she pondered over these new ideas. Unseen by her Tikal's presence was beginning to fade.

"Remember, Blaze. Only the combined love of both your hearts will end for the better. Without that, you will never be happy with anyone."

Blaze nodded, but she still wanted to know more from this strange echidna."I do understand, but what if I... "Tikal?..." By the time she turned around she was already gone. "_Tikal?..._"

Once again Blaze found herself alone, her thoughts in a furious torrent. Her thoughts drifted to Silver as she wondered where he was now and what he would have said if he'd seen what she did. More importantly, however, she was trying to justify if the right thing to do was leave, or if leaving was the right thing to do.

* * *

**(WHITE)**

"Dammit!"

_"Careful on the gas in the corners, Silver. That thing will turn around before you know it."_

Snaking along some winding roads in the suburbs near Route 280 Rotor and especially Silver were having trouble keeping their cars on the road thanks to the fact that both had engines meant more for straight-line performance than twisty-turny roads. Silver had already pitched the rear end out on his white 426 Hemi-powered Superbird when giving it a little too much gas in a corner. But Rotor was also having trouble dealing with the understeer of the beastly black GT500KR Mustang he was driving.

"I thought you said this thing was the street version of a race car!"

_"It is. But it's hardly set up like one."_

"Yeah, no kidding! Seems like all this thing can do good is go in a straight line."

_"You're right, actually. The way that car is set up is for it to do a quarter mile in the fastest time possible."_

"At this rate the only quarter mile I'll be traveling is the one off the side of this cliff."

_"Just take it easy on the gas and you'll be fine. Your cars' aerodynamics will take care of the rest."_

"Alright. So, are you having any trouble like me?"

_"You betcha. This thing is so front heavy that I have to turn twice as hard to get it where I want it to go. But if I turn too hard I'll spin like you almost are."_

"Kinda touchy these things, huh?"

_"Mm-hmm. Could you imagine if it were still raining right now? Or if these roads were icy? Or if right around this corner up ahead we ran into-"_

**"DEER!"**

Since Silver a second or two lead on Rotor he'd seen around the corner first and was met by a half-dozen pack of wild deer. Silver slammed on the brakes but since he was already in the turn the rear end whipped around, coming to a stop sideways and thus blocking both lanes. A moment later when Rotor came to the turn he had no choice to to swerve wide into the narrow, short, unpaved shoulder on the corner of the hill they were on. Rotor swung the car to the right onto the shoulder, then hard to the left to try and recover. But as he'd been explaining just seconds earlier his car had severe understeer. The Mustang more or less kept going to he right and Rotor watched as the ground quickly ran out and he felt himself go weightless. All he could think to do was shut his eyes, brace himself and pray that somehow he'd survive this.

Feeling himself jerk to a sudden halt Rotor was sure that this was the beginning of the end as he'd slam down the side of the hill. But instead he found himself no longer weightless and a bright light surrounded himself.

"Is this... heaven?"

_"No, it's me numb nuts! Just hold on!"_

Two light blue jets of energy were flowing out of Silver's palms as his psychokinesis helped guide Rotor and his car back to the ground from a surely fatal plunge. Setting the car down Silver felt like his head was going to explode he'd been concentrating so hard, but he fought through the dizziness over to his teammate's car. He found the walrus holding the steering wheel with a vice grip.

"Rotor?... You still with me?" he asked, lightly tapping his shoulder.

"...Ho...Sh..."

"What?"

"..._Ho_..._ly_... _shit_..." he said slowly, his voice wavering slightly. "I thought I was a goner for sure."

"Well you said my powers might come in handy. Looks like you were right."

"Yeah... Hey, thanks man. I'd jump out and hug ya right now if my knees weren't shaking so hard."

"Your thanks is enough. If you tried hugging me right now you'd probably snap me in half."

"Heh, your probably right."

"Yeah. If you're cool, let's get going. I can see Route 280 from here. It looks pretty empty. Well, except for that one motorcycle hauling ass on it."

"As long as it's not another deer I'm fine."

Chuckling a bit the two got back on track and roared towards Route 280. Though they felt they'd had the worst of it by running into wild animals little did they know how bad their lives would have been had they met the detective on the motorcycle Silver had seen.

* * *

**(YELLOW)**

Already on Route 280 was a most unique pairing of automobiles. Tails was currently piloting a vehicle that he'd often read about but never seen up close, a Chrysler Turbine that, as its name suggested, was powered by gas turbine engine, basically an engine that worked like a jet engine but inside the car. Given his life-long affiliation and admiration for aircraft, especially of turbine jets, Tails was eager to get to this car on the list. Behind the wheel Tails' expectations of the machine were surpassed in all departments. The fact that such a piece of machinery existed made his fur stand on end. But the experience was tarnished in two ways. The most obvious one was that the means in which Tails got to drive one of his dream cars was to steal it through a crime operation. The other reason, however, was what was taking more of Tails' attention, for next to him Uncle Chuck was putting on quite the show.

Chuck had the luck of heisting the oldest vehicle on the entire list, a century old Stanley Steamer. As Chuck had explained on their way over to get said vehicle the Stanly was essentially a steam engine without rails to run on. Made mostly of wood, save for the metal boiler and hood, it was a most crude and dangerous vehicle to drive. Since only Chuck had any idea of how to operate it it was obvious that he was the one who was going to get it. For Tails it was an amazing sight to watch in his driver's side mirror as the century old machine chugged along and kept up with him at seventy miles per hour, pumping out clouds of steam as it did. And in his mirror he could see as the gas headlights glowed, indicating that the old technology could keep up with modern day standards.

But most humorous of all to Tails was how perfectly Chuck looked riding atop it. With no windshield Chuck had borrowed Tails' goggles and had them taught over his eyes as his gray mustache whipped in the wind. Tails purposely slowed down to watch as he passed.

"Having fun?"

_"Isn't it obvious?"_ he answered over the wind noise.

"So what's more exciting? Being exposed as you drive, or the sheer mechanics of it all?"

_"I'd say knowing that at any more this car could burn and/or scald me to death at any moment."_

"Ha, I hear that! That's why I'm glad I'm in this car and not yours!"

_"What's the matter? You yellow or something?"_

"Well, technically I'm yellow-orange, but moreover I'm just smart."

_"Heh, that's an understatement. But I could say the same for whoever had this. They keep the fire going during the night like they did in the old days. Could you imagine if we had to start this thing up cold?"_

"We probably wouldn't be on the road if we did."

_"That's right. I just wish that... I wasn't under these conditions."_

"Yeah... I was just thinking the same thing."

Their sorrows were tossed aside when a certain black motorcycle came barreling up from behind him. At first it seemed as though the motorcycle was just going to keep going, but then it slowed and got into the lanes in front of them.

_"What's this guy doing?"_

"Hopefully just trying to get a better look at the not-so-every-day-cars we're driving" Tails answered.

_"That's not exactly a good thing, you know."_

"Yeah... What should we do?"

_"Leave that to me."_

Tails filed in behind Chuck's car, an action that proved a bit risky since he was just behind the steam cloud coming from it, making it hard to see. Nevertheless Tails followed behind him as the black motorcycle came in closer to them. Thanks to the glare coming from the car's lamps it was difficult to see who was driving, a fact that Chuck was hoping for. Reaching for a rope on the steering column Chuck was planning on sounding the car's whistle, since it was a steam car after all. Grabbing hold of the line Chuck tugged it and was awarded with a throaty roar the echoed loudly off of the highway's sound barriers.

The plan had worked better than Chuck had planned. The motorcyclist was so startled by the sound that for a moment he'd lifted his hands for the handlebars, a costly mistake at highway speed. The bike quivered violently, threatening to tip over. Tails and Chuck passed by as they watched the bike somehow manage to slow down and not fall over, then shoot down an exit ramp since it had unintentionally drifted that way.

_"That'll teach him."_

"It's amazing he didn't fall off. At these speeds that would have been bad."

_"Well he should just consider himself lucky that all we did was blow a whistle at him. Anybody else might have tried to run him off the road."_

"I hear ya."

Just like their teammates on the White Team, they had no idea that luck was actually on their side as yet again detection from a member of Team Chaotix was avoided.

* * *

**(RED)**

Just off of Route 280 was a rest stop and service station for truckers, though civilians were more than welcome to visit it as well. Such was the case with Julie and Knuckles. They both needed to stop to grab a few bits of chow for the road and also to take a "bio-break." Knuckles had finished his business quite quickly and returned to their cars parked behind the building. He sat upon the hood of his red Cuda, sipping on some red Gatorade and munching on some beef jerky he'd gotten from some vending machines.

"Come on, Su. You doing your hair over in there or something?"

Unseen by the echinda a black motorcycle was pulling into the parking lot, headed for the lot at the rear of the building. But just as Espio was getting into range of seeing Knuckles a nearby semi-truck turned on its lights as it readied to pull out. Espio was blinded by the headlights and rather than going to the lot he just pulled up onto a small sidewalk next to the road. At the same time got down off the hood of the car to sit on the grass behind it to get more comfortable. Just as he'd disappeared from view was when Espio had dismounted his motorcycle and started walking towards the restrooms in the back. As he walked there he couldn't help but notice the red Cuda and Pink Challenger in the lot.

_"Hmph... Strange. There sure are a lot of nice cars out for such a late hour"_ he thought to himself.

Espio opened to the door to and entered the rather unsanitary men's room at virtually the same moment as Julie exited the ladies room, thus they didn't see each other despite being only a few feet apart from one another. Returning to their parked cars Julie joined Knuckles behind the vehicles.

"'Bout damn time, girl."

"Well _excuse **me**_. I had to take care of some girl issues."

"Yeck! That's all I need to know."

"Whatever."

"Same here. By the way, I got these for you."

"Green tea and trail mix, my favorites! And I see you got your faves too."

"Yup. I found a little cash stuffed between the seats. Figured why not, ya know?"

Julie paused for a moment and looked at Knuckles. looking back at her he knew what she was thinking. "Don't worry, Su. I'm fine. Trust me."

"You sure?"

"Hm-hmm. Sometimes you just have to let it out, right?"

"You might be tough on the outside, Knux, but inside you do have feelings that you have to do something with."

"And I'm glad I have somebody I can do that with. You do know how much it means that I have somebody's shoulder to cry on, don't you?"

"Of course. And just because you're a man doesn't make you weak or immature. It's natural to cry."

"Well... that's partially true. Between you and me those rules work just fine, but if Sonic ever found out about that, well... use your imagination. I don't want him knowing about that."

"Then you'd better make damn sure you never piss me off enough to tell him that you cry."

"What? You're not serious... are you?"

Julie only winked, which made Knuckles a tad nervous. They should have been more concerned, however, about Espio. Turns out the restrooms had two doors, the exterior and one that lead into the store. Since Espio was already there and had been forced off the road he decided he could at least take care of eating something. As the chameleon went about choosing what he wanted from the scant pickings of old, low-quality imitation food left to offer at that time of night Julie and Knuckles were finishing up and getting ready to clear out.

As Espio was paying for his selections inside the two echidnas returned to their cars, pushing aside the inner console panels they'd removed in order to hot hire their older muscle cars. It took a moment to get the engines re-fired due to the difficulty of hot wiring, but they did get them started and pulled out of their spots, headed for the parking lot exit. Just as they had pulled past the front of the mini-store Espio exited, looking at the departing cars.

_"Why do I get the sense that something is up with those cars?..."_ he thought. _"No, it's just my imagination running wild. I must replenish my strength to prevent such thoughts from occurring."_

Espio turned his back to the both of them, walking to his motorcycle. Out n the main four-lane road Knuckles stopped a feet outside the parking lot at a red light. Julie pulled up next to him.

"Ya know something? I really like this car."

_"Same here for this one."_

"But I think it would be better if it had a bigger engine."

_"Ditto."_

"And ya know what else? I think I could beat you in a drag race with this thing."

_"In your dreams."_

"Oh? Well how about we find out? I think it's about a quarter mile form this light to Route 280. Feel free to race me... if you're not afraid that is."

_"I fear nothing. You're going down."_

"We'll see."

As Espio began to engorge on the bottled water and rice cakes he'd purchased the sounds of two high-power engines revving made him look up. He did so just in time to see the two cars and their 340 "Six Pack" engines rocketed them away and down the road. Scowling at the sight before him Espio reached for a small radio he'd had installed on the motorcycle since he'd intended on someday using it for detective work. But for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it.

_"They'll be long gone before any law enforcement can get here. I could chase them, but... I lack the motivation to do so. Truly my actions of last night are having a costly affect on me. First I miss working with my team to understand the case we've been working so hard to solve... now I'm refusing to get involved with any cases at all... Perhaps this is a sign that... I'm not meant to do this in my life."_

The melancholy thought made Espio lose whatever appetite he had. Tossing the stale rice cakes into an overflowing trash bin he mounted his bike and finished off the last of his drink then discarded it too. After fixing his helmet to his head and pulling up to the lot exit Espio considered his options. He could either return to Route 280 and continue back to town, or he could extend his journey by going through the rural roads nearby and pick up on Route 101.

_"I have no desire to run into any more immature drivers on that route. And I'm in no hurry to return to town. I must free myself of the burdens I am carrying... even if it means avoiding them for the time being"_ he thought as he directed his bike towards the rural roads before him.

* * *

**(BLUE)**

Nestled amongst the hills of the rural lands between the two super highways Sonic and Sally had targeted a rather luxurious home with a lengthy and windy driveway that lead up to it. It would have been too risky to take a stolen car up the long route so they had to leave the 427 Cobra Sonic had in a cornfield near where the driveway began by the main road. After a short sprint through the hills thanks to Sonic's speed they'd gotten to the home that seemed to be empty due to the lack of lights and noise coming from it. That made breaking into the garage a simple task. From the outside Sally had picked a lock that opened a vent into the building.

"I can't believe we have to craw through another vent" Sonic complained.

"Don't worry. This one only goes a few feet. And there's no fan in here either."

"That's good. Let's do it."

"Right. I'll go first."

Sally snaked her way head first into the small vent and shimmied her way forward until reaching the inlet vent for the vent. After a moment of fidgiting her fingers through the vent slots she undid the latch and pushed the vent door open. Luckily a support beam running just past the vent provided a perfect point to grab onto and slide down like a fire house pole. Safely on the floor she made a quick sweep of the area to make sure it was clear of security devices or sentinels.

"All clear" she called up.

"Sweetness. I'm comin' down."

First Sonic tried to go in feet first but quickly found that wasn't going to work. He pulled himself back out to try head first like Sally had done but he could not slip down just as she had. He tried twisting around onto his back to come in on an angle but ended up getting caught in a knot.

"I'm " Sally taunted from below.

"Quit stealin' my line."

After a bit of squirming Sonic finally got himself through the bend in the duct and out to the beam. Sonic shut the door to the beam then slid to the ground, brushing the vent dust from his jacket and fur.

"We're you making out with the vent up there or something?"

"No, I caught caught in the bend of it, thank you very much."

"And you get on _my case_ about having a big ass."

"Oh shut up."

"Make me."

"Don't tempt me."

"_Fine._ The one we need is over there."

Next to the garage door was their target, a black 427 Yenko Camaro. Sally tried using her alarm decoder against it but it came back with an error indicating that no signal was present.

"That's strange. I wonder..."

Sally decided to utilize her slim jim pick but found it wasn't needed as the car's windows were open. Even the door locks were left open. Perhaps most to both of their surprise the keys were in the ignition.

"You think it's got a kill switch?" Sonic asked.

"Only one way to find out."

Twisting the key quickly the engine chirped. There was no kill switch or any kind of deterrent on this car and, after looking around quickly, none of the others. And now that they thought of it, there wasn't any type of alarm system on the garage either.

"Something isn't right about this place" Sally observed.

"I know. Something is mondo-weird here. No alarms, no locks, no protective measures taken... no nothing."

"There has to be some sort of explanation for all of this. I mean, if you owned this kind of stuff, wouldn't you do something to protect it?"

"Of course. Only if you were the most arrogant or ignorant person on Mobius would you do that."

"Or both."

Sally's statement started The only colors of the cars in the garage consisted of either black, yellow, or red. Many of the black cars featured flame decals and were modified to street dragster specifications. Also, all of them were expensive or rare pieces that you had to be wealthy to afford and or find as well as maintain. Lastly, there was something oddly familiar to Sonic about all the cars around, especially the ones with flame decals.

That's when Sonic noticed one car amongst the ones with flames was covered with a black vehicle tarp. Even with it obscured by the cover something struck Sonic as familiar about it as he wandered towards it.

"What is it, Sonic?"

"I _think_..."

Pulling the cover up Sonic's hunches were confirmed, though he wished they hadn't been. Under the cover was a wrecked 1966 Pontiac GTO in dragster specification with black paint and flame decals on the front. All sides of the car were damaged, the roof was crumpled, the windows were cracked or shattered, and there were pans under the engine and transmission to gather the various leaking fluids. Sally could sense Sonic's tension despite being several feet from him.

"What's wrong?"

"... I know who owns this car... I know who lives here."

"Who?"

Before he could answer the lights of the garage blasted on, making both of them jump. The door shuttered as it began to open automatically. For a moment the two panicked, wondering what to do. The only thing Sonic could think to do was dive inside the wrecked GTO and hide in the back seat while the tarp offered more protection. Sally, however, couldn't get to him since it was on the other side of the garage. With no other options Sally hid in the back of the Camaro. They were trapped in the cars with no escape and only their communicators.

_"Sonic? What do we do?"_

"Just stay down and don't make a sound... Here they come!"

The two hunkered down as low as they could go as the sound of a high-revving car pulled into the garage with its radio blasting rock music. Since Sonic couldn't see anything from where he was Sally glanced up for a second to see a yellow Ferrari F355 Spider pull into an empty space in the garage. Only after the car's engine was shut off did they hear who was inside, although Sonic already knew.

"Oh Sthhhhhhcourge! You're sthuch uhhhhh..." Fiona slurred.

"Sexy hedgehog?"

"Duuuuuuh... duh-huh! How'b ya guessth?"

"Because you've said that about three dozen times already on the drive here."

"I justh wuf you stho muth! Didth you knowth dat?"

"For the umpteenth-fucking-time, YES!"

"Whuuu...whuuu... whuuuuuuyyyy are youth sthoooo... angrwe?"

"Because you have not shut up since we left the bar and because I had to drive this stupid Ferrari of yours home!"

"Daaaaaawwwwww, don'th be thath way... I th-th-th-th-thhhhhhft-thhhhhhhhhhhhft-"

**"****STOP SPITTING ON ME YOU STUPID BITCH!"**

There was silence in the garage for a moment followed by whimpering. It came as little surprise that Scourge's attitude broke Fiona, though the alcohol probably had something to do with that. Even so, there was something in both Sonic and Sally that made them feel sorry for her. After all, Fiona had once been on their side and for her to end up with such a creep meant something to them, even if it was ever-so-slightly.

"I'm sorry Fiona. Come here" Scourge said soothingly as he hugged the vixen.

"Howth coulb youth sthay thath toth me! Youth wambed to gof haf somb dwinks! NOWB YOU'RB YEWWING AB ME!"

"You're right. I was an asshole. You know I didn't mean it."

"I knowb... I wuf you."

"I know. Me too. Come on, lets get you inside."

Sally dared to peek up for just a second to see Scourge guiding a very drunk Fiona across the garage to the door leading into the house. Her fists clenched as she hoped they would just go inside the house so they could get out of there, but just as they walked past Scourge's wrecked car Fiona stumbled and tripped into it, pulling the tarp clear off the car. Although she couldn't see him, Sally was certain Sonic was hiding as deep as he could within the back seat to avoid detection.

"Whoops! Let's get ya back on your feet here and just-"

As Scourge helped the fox back to her feet her system finally rejected the level of alcohol in her system and she vomited directly into the window of the car and all over the front seats. Naturally Scourge was going to look into the car after such an occurrence, causing Sally to panic over whether he would see Sonic or not. She watched as Scourge stuck his face completely inside the window space, yet he didn't react how she thought. He only shrugged and started spreading the tarp back over the car.

"I'b ssss-s-s-s-sowwy, Sthcourge."

"Forget about it. Everything else has happened to this car already, a little puke doesn't matter, I guess."

"I'b sowwy..."

"I know. Come on, you seriously need to lay down."

Finally the two left the garage. Luckily for them Scourge had neglected to lower the garage door since he was pre-occupied with Fiona, thus allowing for a chance to get out of there. Sally glanced up just in time to see Sonic fall from the GTO and could hear him approach her in the Camaro. Once he was outside of it she crawled out from the back seat and into the driver's seat.

"_How_ did he not see you?"

"I have no idea. I guess he was a little drunk himself. Either way, we need to get out of here. Now!" he whispered forcefully.

"But how are they not going to hear us?"

"The driveway leading up to this place is a hill. If we can push this thing out to the hill we can coast away."

"Easier said than done, but okay."

After releasing the parking brake they quietly opened both doors and with all their might shoved the heavy steel car forward, a task made even more difficult because they had to turn it to the left to get it out. As the car passed the half way point of the garage door it began to lower, meaning either that Scourge had triggered it from inside the house or it had an automatic closing system. Either way they pushed with all their might and cleared the door with only a few inches to spare.

"Where are they?" Sally asked.

"When we were up on the roof I saw some sort of balcony on the rear of the house. I think that might be for the bedroom and my guess is that's where they are going."

"I sure hope so."

"Me too... Alright, on three... One-two-three!"

There was no point in waiting. They shoved once more and the Yenko rolled over the crest of the hill and began rolling down the long driveway. Holding onto the doors and roof the two pulled themselves inside and pulled the doors partially shut to keep the noise down. As they rolled down the sloped road their speed increased a lot faster than they thought it would and were starting to wonder if this was such a good idea.

"We're starting to go pretty fast here!"

"I know. Just keep your hands on the wheel and get ready to brake when we get to the bottom!"

The only advantage they had was that the driveway met flush with the main road so there wasn't going to be a sharp turn needed once they got to the bottom. As scary as it was they'd navigated the driveway and hit the main road in a sustained momentum of nearly fifty M.P.H.

"Well, that was interesting."

"And mondo-cool."

"Figured you'd say that."

"But not as cool as what you're about to do. Let this thing slow down to about twenty and then do exactly as I say."

Sally cocked an eyebrow at Sonic's strange request but as they approached twenty M.P.H. Sonic instructed her to turn the key to the on position but not to start it. Then he said to shift into first and when they hit twenty to let the clutch out quickly. To Sally's surprise the car started right up when she did this and she was able to keep driving along.

"Cool, huh?"

"How the hell did that work?"

"I don't know, but my bro taught me that. Said it had something do with the way a manual tranny works because the forward motion connects everything together and can push the engine into starting, or something like that."

"Hmph... Interesting."

Their attention was diverted by a flashing headlight in the opposing lane as a black motorcycle shot by them. Nobody could see who the other driver was since the Camaro was dark and the bike's light made it hard to see who was on the bike. They passed without incident, but the pair wondered why a passing motorcycle flashed at them.

"Oh... head lights" Sally answered, flicking the switch for them.

"Sounds like a bright idea."

"Wow, did you think that up _all by yourself?_"

"Yup."

Sally only shook her head as they drove another quarter mile down the road to where they'd hidden Sonic's car. On the way was when Sonic finally engaged in the rant she'd expected where he said how much of everything they'd just heard made him want to vomit, most of which Sally agreed to.

It only took a moment for Sonic to run out to the point where the car was stashed and get it started. He rejoined Sally on the road in the blue and white striped Cobra where the two of them couldn't help but notice something.

"Sal... we've got a nice empty stretch of road ahead of us."

_"Yup."_

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

_"Yup."_

"Think you can beat me this time?"

_"Yup."_

"Is that all you're going to say?"

_"Yup."_

The sounds of tire screech and engine roar echoed off of the hills though chances were nobody thought twice about it being that the area was sparsely populated. In fact, probably the only person who knew they were there was Espio, but he didn't know that he knew.

* * *

**(GREEN)**

By now Espio was quite steamed by all the obstacles he'd run into on what was supposed to be ride to relax him, but so far anything but that had happened. Finally reaching Route 101 he hit an on ramp at top speed and accelerated so hard he pulled a slight wheelie at the apex of the ramp. Taking a look around he couldn't see anybody so he decided to do something that was going to involve his full concentration. Espio opened the throttle all the way and moved into the high speed lane.

The world shot by faster and faster as the bike continued to push onward. Glancing down he watched as the speedometer climbed past seventy-five as the sound of wind rushing past nearly blocked out all engine noise of the sport bike. Still he pushed onward and as he neared one-hundred and the world began to blur as the illusion of tunnel vision set in from the high speed. The force of the wind was so strong now that Espio hunched down on the bike and tried to hide behind the small windshield as much as possible. Still his speed climbed until he finally topped out at about 120 MPH. By this point the sound of the wind and the sight of a distorted world sent adrenaline surging through the ninja's veins, making him aware of only the feeling of being alive and the thrill of being free on his motorcycle. Lost in his own dimension of travel Espio rocketed across a bridge that crossed a small river next to a small fishing wharf. His attention on driving, though correct, made him miss one thing. There was a pair of headlights directly in the middle of the river.

If anybody had seen it they might think it was simple a boat out for some night fishing, but nothing could be further from the truth. On the water was perhaps the most bizarre automobile on the entire list, the Model 770 Amphicar. As its name and design suggested this car was designed to be used on both land and on water. Jogging along at a steady six knots, its highest speed on water, they were coming up to the bridge where the small wharf was where the car Manic had stolen area had been left while they got the red Amphicar from another spot upriver. Antoine was piloting the car/boat hybrid but Manic wasn't in the car, but he didn't stay behind with the other car either. Instead, he was being towed behind the vehicle on a water board they'd found with it at the dock it was stored at. Sure it was risky, but given the hour, Manic had convinced Antoine to let him do it.

"We are geetteeng close to zee wharf. You might want to be comeenk een."

_"Are you nuts? At this speed we've got plenty of time. I'm gonna hang back."_

"Eef you eenseest. But I 'ave 'eard zat zee waters around a breedge are a beet rough."

_"You do know who you're talking to, right? The old joke with me is I started surfing while I was still in the womb."_

"Okay, 'ave eet your way. Don't expect me to 'elp you eef you fall off because I can't sweem."

_"Fine by me."_

The little craft navigated towards the bridge just the other side of the wharf they were headed for. Although the waters weren't incredibly violent they were flowing faster that usual for the small river which created powerful currents around the pillars of the bridge. Masked by the darkness where whirlpools that formed from the increased water flows. Though not very big and certainly not powerful enough to effect the Amphicar they were big enough to effect small objects, a lesson Manic was about to learn.

Cruising under the bridge things got a bit dangerous because the current sped up in the constricted area. Antoine could feel the water car losing control in the rough waters, but things were much worse for Manic. The powerful surges pulled him in away from Antoine and over towards on of the bridge pillars where he met a newly formed whirlpool. The suction pulled his water board out from under him and tried to pull him in too, but the tow rope kept him from doing so. Unfortunately this happened at the moment Antoine turned for the access point to get out, thus pulling the tow rope form his hands. He was now adrift in the river.

**"DUUUUUUDE!"**

"What eez eet, Maneek?" Antoine said in annoyance.

**"Out here!"**

"What?... **MANEEK, YOU EEMBEESEEL!"**

**"A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE NICE!"**

Letting off the throttle so they dien't separate too much Antoine reeled the line in as quickly as he could and hurled the handle as far and hard as he could. Manic had already gone so far that the line went tight as it ran out and fell straight down and, by some miracle, practically landed in his hands. Grabbing on with all his might and wrapping the line around his arm Manic yelled for Antoine to pull him in. Knowing that it would take too much energy and time to pull him in by hand Antoine motioned he was going to drive ashore which he did as quickly as possible. Since the tow line was on the short side by the time Antoine had gotten to the top of the access ramp Manic was close enough to shore that he could touch the riverbed with his feet and walk ashore. Stumbling up the ramp and dripped wet he found Antoine waiting beside the Amphicar with his arms crossed.

"Pauvre con..." Antoine said quietly to himself as Manic approached. "What deed I tell you?"

"It's no big deal, dude."

"_**What** **deed I** **tell you!**_"

"Alright, alright, chill! Not like I drowned or anything. I just slipped."

"And almost keelled yourself."

"What? Naaah! I woulda been fine. I just wanted to see if you would go all hero and try to save me yourself."

"Deedn't I tell you zat I am not a sweemer?"

"Ya never know. Strange things happen when you're faced with an emergency. You do things you normally wouldn't."

"I am not zee Superman, you know. Eet's amazeeng zat zee line I tossed got to you at all. You should conseeder yourself luckee."

"Not as lucky as am I to be driving that back, though."

Manic, still dripping wet, headed towards the black and red Stingray Corvette they'd left there earlier. On their way there Antoine hadn't thought twice about the car, but now something was bugging him.

"Eeeh, Maneek?"

"Yeah?"

"Deedn't you say zat both of zee cars we were goeeng for were aquateek theemed?"

"Yeah. They are."

"How?"

"Your car goes in the water, mine's named after a sea creature. Get it?"

"What! Are you telleeng zee truth! I 'ave to drive zis stupeed theeng while you geet to drive _zat!_"

"Yup."

"Maneek... I am green weeth ivee."

"That's envy, dude!" Manic got out between fits of laughter. "And ya know what? I'm drenched with river water, so that makes us even."

"Tu me fais chier!"

"Whatever. Let's roll."

One would have to admit that it was a hilarious site a few minutes later when Manic roared onto Route 101 in a viscous power slide while Antoine and his underpowered vehicle lazily crawled its way onto the freeway. Revenge, however, was soon to come for Antoine for he could only go roughly seventy miles per hour, forcing Manic to hang back. This did not go over well with him, of course.

"This sucks..." Manic complained.

"Payback eez zee weetch, eesn't eet."

"_Bitch_, Antoine. _Bitch._"

* * *

**(CYAN)**

The return trip for Espio on Route 101 was relatively uneventful. Aside from one or two semi-trucks and a brief encounter with a deputy of the S-Team high speed patrol squad assisting a broken down tour bus nothing else had happened. This allowed for his blood to cool and enjoy the rest of his ride. Just a mile or so outside of town Espio glanced down at his gauge cluster. After his initial speed blast he'd averaged 75 to 80 MPH so that he could still take in the world somewhat. But when he glanced down as the gas gauge he'd realized he had a problem. Though his bike got nearly fifty miles per gallon it had been a while since he'd filled the gas tank. That, coupled with his lengthy and speedy cruise, left the gas needle pointing on E.

Fortunately the gas lasted just long enough for him to get into town and directly off of the first inter-city exit ramp was a 24/7 self-serve gas station. As he put the gas nozzle into the bike's tank he noticed it was just going past three, a full hour since he'd left his dojo. He didn't realize he'd been out so long but at the rate things were going he didn't care. It didn't take long for the tank to fill, but while it was Espio pondered over the strange occurrences he'd had while out.

_"There was a lot of activity for a Thursday night. I could hear cars racing in the hills, antique vehicles on the freeways, reckless drivers on the back roads, and there's probably other things I completely missed while speeding. Strange... If it were Friday night or the weekend I wouldn't think twice about it, but Thursday night?... Perhaps they were eager to get the weekend started early and took Friday off... or perhaps these cases just seemed weird because they were more scattered due to the earlier rain... or... what if there's something more to this? What if all those rare pieces of property were in fact-"_

The gas filler clicking to a halt ended his stream of thoughts. After replacing the nozzle and paying via swipe card Espio wanted to pick up his thought process but he started to hear engines of cruiser motorcycles. Having had run-ins before with bike gangs and cruiser-motorcycle purists Espio really didn't feel like dealing with them if they were of that group.

_"Time to leave. I'm not in the mood for a confrontation. But I could still go for a glass of saké... and I know just where to get that."_

Noticing that the engines were within a block or two away Espio didn't waste any time getting his Kawasaki revved up and zipped away down the street. Had he stayed a few moments he indeed would have been met by two black cruiser motorcycles ridden by two particular girls.

"How's your hat?" Sonia asked as they pulled their motorcycles into the gas station.

"Amazed the little strap kept it on. How's ya hair?" as they pulled their bikes up to the gas stalls.

"Messed up, but I don't mind."

"What! Did I heah what I thank I just did?"

"Mm-hmm. If I'm going to mess up my hair over anything, riding a motorcycle is one thing I don't mind. Although I sure wish it wasn't this clunky old thing."

"Well what do y'all want?" she continued as she gassed her bike up. The thangs we got tahday had to come from somewheah."

"I know. I just wish this thing didn't smell like gas and oil so much!" Sonia whined as she did the same as Bunnie. "It's going to take days to get that scent out of my fur!"

"Ahh, don't worry 'bout thaht. A bit o' elbow grease 'ill fix anythang."

"Speaking of elbows and arms, doesn't it terrify you have to take a hand off the handles to shift your bike?"

"Maybe a little, but ya get used to it. Kindah adds to the excitement of it all, ya know?"

"You really do live life without regrets, don't you?"

"A'h try to. Wheah's tha point in livin' if yah aren't gonnah enjoy life?"

"That's true, especially for you since you were once partially roboticized if you don't mind me saying so."

"A'h don't mind at all. But it's the same for you. I know what you and y'all brothers went through. And when you considah how fast some thangs can happen, like with me and Sugah-Twan, it's best not tah hold back."

"I have to agree... I just hope that when this is all over I can think about living without regrets..."

"Hey... don't think like thaht. Don't. Manic and Sugah-Twan will be fine because none of us will let it be that way othahwise."

"You got that right. I swear, if Robotnik, like, does anything to hurt my brother then his fat ass is the one that's going to be in a world of hurt."

"That's the spirit. And just so ya know, when this is all ovah, and I say when it's ovah, the first thang you an' me are gonnah do somethin' to show you not live with regret."

"Really? What did you have in mind?"

"It's ah sahprise."

Sonia grinned in acceptance of Bunnie's plan. Whatever this surprise was going to be would surely keep her on edge until it was revealed and she could react to it. Surely, though, he surprise reaction wouldn't be as much as Espio's would have been had he seen them.

* * *

**(PURPLE)**

At Club Rouge Shadow and the owner of the same name had stopped in to make a quick check of how things had gone after the VIP party that had wrapped up shortly before two-thirty. Now at about quarter after three Rouge wanted to check in on the two girls and see how the building and supplies were holding up. Not surprisingly a lot of the food and drink stocks took a hit from such a lengthy party. It also came as no surprise that the club was going to need a good cleaning up since it had been filled to capacity. The surprise, however, came between Amy and Avarice, who despite having been ready to tear each other's throats out earlier in the day had gotten threw the night with each other and, though not exactly friends, were able to get along. Rouge had just come back from checking the stock rooms while Shadow had retreated upstairs for the moment.

"Must have been quite an evening with how much of my stockroom you've gone through."

"Tell me about it..." Amy said drowsily. "I had no idea there was going to be that many guests and that much to do..."

"Well what did you expect, Pink? This club doesn't get the ratings it does for nothing. People come here for a good time and they get it."

"Pink?" Rouge asked.

"That's the nickname I came up for her. I thought it was cute."

"She has a name you know, Av."

"Don't worry about it, Rouge. I'll take Pink over Pin Cushion or Bitch any day."

"See Ro? We can get along. Just had to give it a little time so we could let things level out."

"Fine by me. As long as my club doesn't become a wrestling rink then there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah yeah, so when will we get our money?"

"_Excuse me?_" Rouge asked.

"What? A favor like this doesn't come without a price tag."

"How _big_ a price tag?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about-"

"Don't even think about answering that, Avarice!" Amy snapped.

"What are you, my... guardian?"

"No, but I _am_ an irate hedgehog that's going to voice her opinion! The whole idea of a favor is something you do out of goodness and don't expect anything in return. How could you _possibly_ have the gall to request payment for something you're doing to help a friend!" Amy stressed.

"What the hell are you talking about? Rouge asked me if I could come and watch the club for a night. She never said anything about favors. If this was a favor she should have said so, but she didn't so I expect payment."

"Well aren't you conceited! You can't even do a favor for a friend without thinking about yourself!"

"Hey, I might be Ms. Greed herself, but I gotta do something to survive. I'm not fortunate enough to have a five-star night club to live off of. I'm sure as hell not about to go into detail about how I make a living but let me tell you it's anything but stable."

"I'll bet it's more stable than your mind is!"

"What did you just say to me?"

"I said you're crazy!"

"And what gives you the right to say that!"

"BECAUSE I DON'T CARE WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE OR WHERE YOU CAME FROM BECAUSE YOU'RE THINKING IS INSANE! YOU MUST LIVE ONE SCREWED UP LIFE IF YOU BELIEVE THE THINGS YOU DO!"

Rouge was fully prepared to prevent another fight from breaking out as Avarice approached Amy. The hedgehog summoned one of her hammers but the black cat continued to approach her until she was within arms-length of her.

"Let me tell you something, Pink. You don't have the _slightest_ idea of what's happened to me in my life. You haven't been in my shoes, walked the paths I've been down, gone through the shit I have. I don't know how your life has been but I can promise you it hasn't been as hard as mine. You say I'm fucked in the head, huh? I'd love to see you go through what I have and still end up the same person. I can promise you that you wouldn't."

The cat's voice took on one of emptiness, almost desperation. Though only words one could feel her pain as she spoke. Events of the past and fate's consequences were evident in the emotions of her speech. The anger and disappointment within Amy was replaced by a feeling of wrong-doing and sorrow. Having seen and felt such emotions before in others, including Manic, the one she loved so dearly, Amy realized that she'd tapped into some realm of the feline that caused her much pain.

"Avy... I-I didn't know that your life, or that your past, was such a burden to you. I'm sorry, really. I didn't mean to-"

"Save it, Pink. I've heard what you're about to say thousands of times. Quite frankly I don't give a shit about it" she said miserably as she walked sadly to the bar, flopped down on a stool a laid her head down on her crossed arms. "... Everybody always says they're sorry, everybody always thinks I'm such a bad person, everybody always puts their blame on me... Just for once it would be nice if somebody could see things from my perspective... know how I feel... know what I want... know what I need... Just _once_ it would be nice."

Amy didn't know what to say. She looked to Rouge who had a slightly forlorn look in her eyes, though to whom it wasn't apparent. By now Shadow was returning to the floor, observing where everybody was and what they were doing. He acted as if nothing serious had happened and approached his team mate.

"Time is getting on, Rouge. We need to get back to work."

"..."

"Rouge?"

"You're right. But... I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Could you drive Amy to Mina's place? I need to... have a word with _her_..."

"Do you think it's wise to separate?"

"I'll be fine, Shadow. I'll only be here a few minutes. I'll meet you back at the drop off."

"Alright" he answered, fidgiting with his quills nervously. "But just be careful and don't take too long. We've still got a lot to accomplish in less than five hours."

"I know. And I will."

Shadow nodded in agreement and motioned for Amy to follow him. Amy nodded to and started walking, but she couldn't help but look at the one she'd just hurt. As she passed Rouge the bat stopped her with a gentle placement of a hand on her shoulder.

"Rouge, I'm sorry. I didn't-" she started to whisper.

"It's not your fault. You could never have known and probably shouldn't. Just take care of yourself and say a prayer for us, okay?"

"I will. And for her too."

"Okay... And Amy?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

The hedgehog managed a slight grin at the bat as she continued with Shadow, but before rounding the corner she took one last look at Avarice. For some reason she felt as though she'd never see her again. Never get the chance to apologize. This feeling carried with her all the way to the black Bel Air that Shadow was responsible for, which was directly next to the white Cadillac Rouge had been driving.

"I think you'll be more comfortable if you stretch out in the back" Shadow said, opening the driver door and pulling the seat forward for Amy. "This car has ample room and you must surely be exhausted."

"Yeah... I, I am..." she answered distantly.

Shadow cocked an eyebrow at Amy's demeanor but said nothing as she got in and he followed. As Amy got herself comfortable in the back Shadow worked with the exposed wires in their hot-wire set up to get the engine started. Just as he got it started Amy sighed in the back seat.

"Is something wrong?"

"I... I just feel so bad for Avarice... I didn't know she had a tough life. I didn't want to offend her but she wouldn't let me apologize."

"Avarice is a complex person, as is her past. But as I said before, it's far too involved to get into given the circumstances."

"I just wish I could help her... comfort her... let her know that it'll be okay."

"Rest assured, Amy, Rouge is the best person to do that. Nobody knows her better."

"Why?"

"Hmph."

Amy understood. It was too complicated. As the large automobile pulled away from the club Amy nodded off almost instantly, the long, tough night haven taken its effect on her. With her asleep Shadow glanced down into her jacket pocket, knowing one final cigarette remained for him. He chose not to use it now. He was in the presence of another.

But as Shadow turned a corner up ahead he would never be aware of the presence of a certain black motorcycle coming around another corner a block or two from the club.

* * *

Meanwhile Rouge and Avarice had retreated up to her living quarters where the tears had begun to fall. The emotional feline had her face buried in Rouge's comforting shoulder as she let herself go. She whimpered quietly as Rouge held her close, listening as Avarice revealed what was on her mind.

"Did you hear her?... All those things she said to me?... She asks who do I think I am? What about who she thinks _she_ is!... She doesn't know _shit_ about me!... She doesn't know about my childhood... or my parents... or anything about me!... All she knows is that I'm some bitchy, greedy girl that takes advantage of everybody!... ALL I WANT IS SOMEBODY TO UNDERSTAND ME!"

"Shh... It's alright. I'm here, you know that."

"I know... But I still need something else in my life, Ro... I can't keep doing this... and for her to say all that... she just doesn't know..."

"You're right, she was a bit out of line saying those things. But you can't hold that against her because like you said, she didn't know. And I promise you Amy is not an evil person. She just didn't understand."

"Yeah, like just about everybody else I've met doesn't..."

"Hey... look at me."

With her green mascara now stained down her cheeks Avy lifted her head and looked into Rouge's light blue eyes. In that moment she felt true comfort as all the years the two of them had known each other came back to her. She knew that her feelings weren't going unheard. Rouge really did care.

"Life's been hard for both of us. All the years were spent together in our youth and the ways we had to bet by are proof of that. But despite all of that we're both still standing, aren't we?"

"Mm...mm-hmm..."

"That means that there's something that's kept us going and something still to come for the both of us. Just look at me. Did I ever think I'd be the owner of a legit night club that people from all over come to? Of course not."

"But what about me?"

"I don't have a crystal ball, Avy. Although I sure wished I did. I'd make a a lot of money selling a solid sphere of precious stone."

The cat giggled, showing the her spirits were being lifted slowly but surely. "You always did know how to make me feel better, Ro."

"And I know that along side me there's one other thing that makes you feel better too."

"You mean?..."

"Get yourself cleaned up and I'll have a glass of chilled green chartreuse waiting for you."

Avy planted a friendly peck on Rouge's cheek and headed for the bathroom to clean off her smudged makeup. As promised Rouge headed downstairs to the bar where she retrieved a bottle of her friend's favorite drink and a glass with ice. But just as she was about to pour it she head a known on the rear door of the club. She was struck by how odd it was that somebody would be at the back door rather than the front because the only two people that would normally come in through there were delivery services, of which none were scheduled for, and Shadow, though she knew it wasn't him since he'd already left.

"Who's there, Rouge?" Avy called from the upper floor.

"I'm not sure..."

Behind the bar was a small set of closed circuit television screens hooked up to the building's security cameras. One look at the screen for the back door made the bat's heart rate double. She could not only clearly see Espio standing by the rear door, but that he'd parked his motorcycle in the rear as well, meaning he'd driven right by the stolen Cadillac outside.

"Oh _shit!_"

"What?"

Not wanting to make another sound Rouge actually flew herself upstairs to the bathroom where Avarice was halfway done removing her makeup. One look told the cat something was truly wrong.

"We've got a serious problem."

"How serious?"

"Enough that it could ruin this whole night."

"How?"

"Did you hear the news today about the death of Nack the Weasel last night?"

"Yeah. Don't tell me one of his pals is here for revenge."

"Worse. The officer, or rather detective, that killed Nack is here."

"Why?"

"My guess is that since Nack was here a few nights ago stirring up trouble he needs to ask a few questions."

"Well how is that a problem? Just tell him the bastard made a little ruckus and you got rid of him."

"That's not the problem. The Cadillac I stole is still out there. If he suspects anything about it we're done for. And if I just suddenly disappear in a Cadillac that clearly I don't own were screwed."

Avy's mind was instantly ablaze with ideas for, in a previous life, she too had a criminal career, some of it right along with Rouge. Therefore she knew exactly how to react quickly to such a situation.

"I got an idea."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Listen closely."

* * *

Outside Espio was considering leaving since there hadn't been an answer for a few minutes and he assumed she was either asleep or was involved in some other business. He began to head for his motorcycle when he looked at the white Cadillac parked in the alley again.

_"I didn't know Rouge owned a Cadillac, especially one like that. But then again... who says it's hers?"_

The lock on the metal door behind him clicked open and with a loud groan it opened, revealing Rouge standing behind it.

"I thought I heard somebody knocking back here" she said in a normal tone.

"Sorry to bother you at such a late hour Rouge, but I needed somewhere to go and something to do."

"You're more than welcome here, Detective Espio. Come in."

The two proceeded back to the main room which was still mostly unchanged since the end of the party, an act done on purpose to make things look less suspicious. Espio took a seat at the bar where Rouge performed a few various tasks that, though necessary anyway, were being done now to draw attention away form anything else.

"So what can I do for you, Espio?"

"...Hmph... that is _indeed_ the question."

"You sound troubled."

"I am... Did you hear the story on this news this morning about Nack the Weasel?"

"I did. Never thought the day would come when his reign of terror would come to an end."

"Yes... but similarly I never thought it would be me that brought about that end."

"What?" Rouge said in a convincing act of surprise. "You mean... you were the one that..."

"Yes. _I_ killed him."

"Oh my... I can't even begin to imagine how you feel about that."

"That's the strange thing. On one hand, I'm relieved that such a menace to society is gone. Yet... I can't help but wonder if killing him was the right thing to do. He's done so many horrible deeds that death almost seemed to easy for him. But as dangerous as he was last night, I wonder... why was it I that had to take the life of another?... I was raised and trained to know that to kill is one of the ultimate acts one can perform and to kill should only be done if there is no other option... Now I see how true that is..."

Espio held his head in his hands and sighed in depression at the bar. Although she felt truly sorry for him, she was unconsciously glad that so far she was keeping the topic off of anything that might give away the night's events.

"Rouge?..."

"Hmm?"

"The real reason I came over here was I needed something to try and feel better... would you happen to have any saké?"

"I've got some Seishu that was delivered just a few days ago."

"My favorite form of saké."

"Coming right up."

From the staircase Avy peeked down, watching what was going on. The plan was that she would stay hidden until either Rouge would work in a way that she could leave and she would stand in or when Rouge was caught in a dead end that could leak the truth. The signal to come out of hiding was a simple mock sneeze. Yet as she watched the scene while Rouge prepared the drink Avy found herself fascinated by the unfamiliar chameleon. On one hand she was attracted to him due to similarities she saw in their feelings. Yet, on the other hand, she found her heart beating a bit faster while studying his physique through his tight riding suit.

"Here you are" Rouge said, putting the beverage in front of the detective.

"Thanks... _Mmm_... It's been a while since I've had saké this fresh."

"Glad you like it. Hope it makes you feel better, too."

"For tonight it will. But tomorrow... it will only get worse."

"How could that be? Since it's technically early Thursday, how could Friday be so bad?"

"...Because I'm going to turn in my resignation to Vector."

"Espio... are you saying... you're going to quit being a detective?" she asked in genuine surprise.

"Correct."

"But why? Is it because you had to kill somebody?"

"Yes and no. Nack's death was the final push to me making the decision, but it's a decision I've been pondering for quite some time now. You see, Rouge, I feel as though I'm not going where I want to with Team Chaotix. I feel my abilities and knowledge are beyond that which are required for my current position. I'm also not particularly fond of how Vector runs the agency, which by now has lead to us butting heads numerous times. But most of all... I do not want to be in a position where I chose whether somebody lives or dies. I have my morals and beliefs that I live by.. if I stay on my current track I fear I will only continue to be lead astray from where I want to go with my life... That is why my only option is to part ways with the Chaotix."

Rouge felt truly sorry for the troubled officer that sat sipping his glass of Seishu. Though she had no idea what to expect when he showed up she knew now there was no way she could have expected this. Knowing that Espio was technically not an enemy, despite the night's circumstances, she refilled his glass for him.

"It's on the house."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry about it, Espio. I make enough money to be able to give a troubled friend a free drink."

"I thank you Rouge. Although I still feel a bit guilty about not having to pay."

"Don't be. There's nothing to worry about."

"Huh. I would have thought any extra money might help you pay off any debt you might have. Speaking of which, when did you buy the Cadillac?"

Thankfully Rouge hadn't been facing Espio when he asked this because her eyes shot wide open as she'd forgotten about that issue in Espio's story. She tried desperately to remember what her and Avarice had discussed but her mind was so clogged with thoughts that she couldn't think straight.

"Oh, you mean the white Eldorado?"

"That's the only one I saw."

"Oh, yeah... It doesn't belong to me!" she blurted out.

"It... _doesn't?_" Espio asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Uh, no! It's somebody else's! But it's mine for right now!"

"Oh, you mean somebody lent it to you?"

"No!"

"No?"

"I mean, _no_. You see, what happened was I had to take the car away and now I have to take it somewhere else."

"..._What?_"

"May I help clear this up?" Avy asked, revealing herself despite there being no signal, her makeup fully reapplied.

"Uhh... yes, please do" Rouge stated.

"Who is that?" Espio asked suspiciously.

"The name's Avarice. I'm Rouge's sister."

"_Sis...ter?_" the chameleon asked in utter confusion.

"Not by blood. By close, long-time relation."

"Oh... you mean like Sonic and Tails?"

"Exactly" she answered, not having a clue as to who or what he was talking about. "I've known Rouge since childhood. We grew up together. You could a book there's so much history between me and her, trust me."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, then. So... you said you could help clear up what Rouge was trying to say?"

"Yup. But just for the records, forgive Rouge. It's no wonder she'd so scatter-brained after the night we had here."

"Busy night?"

"Uh-huh. See, earlier today Rouge gives me a call, says she's got a part for some VIPs tonight and that she could really use an extra pair of hands around the place. Turns out it's a bachelorette party for some of the girls from the wealthiest families in the city. Obviously you've never been to a bachelorette party since you're a guy but let me tell you if you get the right group of girls together in the same room at the right time with the right settings and you've got yourself one hell of a party. And since you know how some parties can get the group ended up having a little too much to drink so a lot of the parents of the girls came to get their daughters and their cars. But there were two girls who's parents were out of town and they were way to sloshed to drive so Rouge called cabs from them. Once the cab drivers called back to say the girls were home safe Rouge and Shadow were going to the girl's houses so they'd have them back. And in lieu of the night's theme once the cars were back where they should be Rouge and Shadow were going to stay the night at a nice hotel and... well, use your imagination."

For what seemed like forever to Rouge Espio stared at Avarice, studying her expressions and body language, looking to see if he could trust her and/or what she said. As the chameleon began to turn around Rouge's heart sputtered, fearing that the clever detective had sniffed them out.

"How long were you going to keep it a secret?" Espio asked with a cocked eyebrow and sly grin.

"What do you mean?" she asked, barely masking her nervousness.

"That you and Shadow have something going on?"

Rouge couldn't help but blush on the outside, but on the inside a wave of relief went through her. They'd managed to trick one of the smartest people Rouge knew. More importantly, she could now use her embarrassment as a way to get going.

"Technically it's not a secret since Avy knew..." Rouge said bashfully.

"Considering how many people _don't_ know I'd still call it a secret" Espio stated.

"Yeah, well... It's still kind of early for us, so I didn't want to get ahead of myself" she said shyly.

"You two have already had sex, what's there to be worried about getting ahead of?" Avarice pointed out.

Turning an even deeper shade of crimson Rouge decided now was the time to act. "_Ooooookaaaaaay_... now that I have no pride left at all I think I'm going to go deliver that car."

"Sounds like a good idea. Come on Ro, I'll walk ya out."

"Rouge?" Espio asked as they began to leave. "I won't tell anybody. This is your business, your secret."

"Thanks Espio. Feel free to say as long as you want. And have all the saké you want. My treat."

"Doomo arigato, Rouge."

* * *

Just outside the back door the two girls threw their arms around one another and giggled giddily at their success.

"Avy, sometimes I want to slap you silly, but other times I love you!"

"I know. How didja like that quick thinkin' of mine?"

"Brilliant! But we're not out of trouble yet. With Espio still around we might get in trouble if he leaves here."

"Leave him to me. You just get going and finish this job up."

"What are you going to do?"

"Hmmhmmhmm... they don't call me the Queen of Seduction for nothing."

"Seduct- No! Avy,_ hell_ no!"

"What?"

"He's a freaking detective! One that has connections to what we're doing!"

"So?"

"It's too risky! And besides, there's no reason to! Just get him out of here and we'll be fine."

"He's not going to leave without asking questions. That's what detectives do. Trust me, I know. The only way to make sure you're safe is to.. how can I put this lightly... take his mind off of his duty?"

"Oh dear God... Avy, this is crazy! You can't-"

"Shh!"

"_Avy!_-"

"_SHH!_"

"**A**-"

"_**SHHHHHH!**_... Go Rouge. The longer we stay out here the more suspicious things will get. Trust me, I have my reasons for doing this."

Rouge was reluctant to leave due to her friend's plan, but there was no more time to waste. Rouge sprinted for the Cadillac and made haste in her departure. With Rouge now safely away Avarice grinned as she put her part of the plan into action. On her way back to the main room she looked at her makeup and posture in a decorative wall mirror. Happy with what she saw she sashayed in to find Espio pouring himself a bit more saké. Taking a seat next to him Avarice pulled the glass and bottle of chartreuse Rouge had left out over to herself and poured some. It was this she planned to use to start a conversation.

"Have you ever tried chartreuse?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"I have not, actually."

"You should sometime."

"What does it taste like?"

"I admit it had a strong taste, it's kinda sweet but then turns spicy, maybe even a bit pungent."

"Interesting. I'll keep it in mind. How about you? Ever tried saké?"

"Practically every kind. Haven't found one I don't like yet."

"You must have quite a pallet."

"_Mmm**hmm**_, That I do. So what do you ride?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're wearing motorcycle riding equipment and you have a helmet with you. What kind of bike do you have?"

"Oh, right. Yes, I have a black Kawasaki Ninja 650R out back."

"Get out! Did you see that black and green Ninja ZX-10R outside?"

"That's yours?"

"Mmmmm-hmmmm."

"A fine choice. You must be a skilled rider to handle that."

"Oh I'm _very_ skilled at riding" she said, beginning to become seductive in her voice.

"Apparently so. I don't ride very often but when I do it's normally for a good reason. For example, for tonight I thought a ride on my motorcycle would help take my mind of my troubles, but it seemed everywhere I went tonight I ran into the craziest of drivers. Drag racers, bike gangs, even antique steam vehicles, all of which somehow seemed to be out of place and yet I can't find any reason to say why they shouldn't be around otherwise. Yet even now I wonder if all those cars were out because-"

Since the conversation was going back to cars Avy decided to start laying on some moves. Espio was interrupted to find a black tail creeping along side of him and laying upon his lap. He looked up to find Avarice looking at him misty-eyed and longingly.

"Uhh... might I ask what you are doing?"

"Riding motorcycles may be fun, but it won't take your mind off of your troubles."

"And why is that?"

"Because riding a bike only covers up your troubles because you're concentrating on all the problems with driving. To truly forget your problems you have to do something where you forget about reality for a while."

"What do you mean?... Are you saying you do drugs!"

"Hell no! I might drink and smoke, but I do _not_ do drugs. And that's a _fact_."

"Then are you suggesting I get drunk?"

"You can if you want, but you'll feel like shit tomorrow."

"Then what are you suggesting?"

On the last words Avarice slid closer to Espio, now facing him directly. The chameleon leaned back away but the feline grabbed his hands and pulled him back forward, purposely placing his palms on her hips. Now he got the point.

"I don't particularly care for what you are doing to me right now" Espio said sternly.

"Oh? Then why aren't you resisting me?"

"It is against my morals to harm a woman. I will not strike you away, so please cease what you are doing _now_."

"You say that, but really you don't want me to stop..." she continued, putting her arms around Espio's neck. "Know why?"

"No, I do not" he answered uncomfortably.

"Because you need this."

"I most certainly do not!" he snapped.

"Yes you do. And I am willing to give it to you."

"May I ask why?"

"I heard everything you said to Rouge... About wanting to do what makes you happy and finding where you belong... Those are some pretty big issues, but dwelling on them won't help. Believe me, I speak with experience. Sometimes the best thing to do is just let go for a while and go back to basics" she said soothingly but in a suggestive way.

"That is exactly what I'm going to do b quitting my job and starting over."

"Now you're just kidding yourself. You really think that you can just quit your old job no questions asked and everything will turn out fine?"

"It's a start and that's what I need. What I don't need is meeting a complete stranger for the sole purpose of engaging in s-"

Avarice slammed her lips into Espio's. He quivered bot at the shock but also the sensations of the action. His mind told him to jump away, but all he could manage was to turn his head way.

"Damn you... This is wrong. I can not do this."

"Yes you can."

"Are you deaf? I do not want to do this!"

"You do. You want to because it's a way of letting go of all your problems and just focusing on something that will make you feel better."

"I do not even know you! I can learn nor gain anything from you!"

"I disagree. Just from these few minutes I've learned that you are an honorable person that lives by strict guidelines and wants to do your own thing regardless of what others think. But you also are so set in your ways that others use it against you and make you do what they want because they know you have to stick to your rules."

During her monologue Avarice took the chance to circle around the stunned detective and entwine her arms and tail around him, placing her head on his shoulder and she spoke. Espio wanted desperately to pull way, put something inside him was making him do the opposite.

"How did you figure all of that out?"

"Because I've been in your position before. I still am sometimes, actually. Even now I'm hurting inside due to some things that have been said to me tonight because of the way I am. And you're hurting since you're at a huge crossroad in life and you don't know where you want to go. We're both the same because we're living unsettled lives and we need some solid foundation to find out who we are and what we can and want to do."

"I still don't understand."

"It's simple. You can sit there and dwell on your problems but you'll find not much will come of it. I am guilty of such a thing myself. Still am. But every now and then an opportunity comes along where you can learn a lot about yourself if you're willing to lay it all on the line and just go for it. In your case, if you're willing to open up to me you'll be letting go of your strict rules and revert back to instinct. Once you learn to trust your instincts you can understand what you want and what you have to do. I really want to help you, Espio. But the only way I'll be able to do that is if you let me take you where you _need_ to go. You _need_ to let me take you to a realm where only your instincts, not everything and everybody else, tells you what to do."

Espio thought about this deeply for a moment, trying to make sense of it. "So what you're saying is that... by mating I'm going back to my primal instincts and not being controlled by all the influences that I've become accustomed to... and in doing so I reset my mind... and come to focus only on what matters more to me?"

The feline turned the bar stool around so that they were facing each other. She once again placed her green lips upon the male's. And this time she felt him kiss back. That was all the edge she needed. Pulling away she cupped his face in her hands and smiled the most charming way she could.

"What's it gonna be, Espio?"

"... I'll be up in a minute."

She let her tail slide along his lap as she turned and headed up the stairs, glancing over her shoulder and casting a wink with his green eyelashes. Espio smiled back, making a "wait one moment" gesture. He finished the last of his drink and took his wallet out of one of the many pockets on his riding suit. Deep in one of the small compartments was a small square plastic package containing something he never thought he'd actually use, but given what he was about to do, he was glad he had it.

Grabbing the bottles of saké and chartreuse along with two glasses he headed for the staircase as a torrent of thoughts went through the chameleon's mind, telling him that he should not do this. Taking a deep breath he emptied him mind and proceeded upstairs.

* * *

At the docks Shadow had been pacing nervously for a while, wondering why Rouge hadn't contacted him and why he couldn't contact her. Since they were separate he couldn't go on so he had to wait for her to show up. Twice already he'd gotten his hopes up that she'd arrived but it ended up being another team making deliveries. He was just about to put out an emergency message asking if anybody had seen Rouge when he looked up to see the white Cadillac she'd heisted pull into the building.

"I was beginning to get concerned, Rouge" he informed her, joining her side.

"You worry too much."

"Did something happen?"

"Actually yes. I had a run-in with Espio at the club."

"_Detective_ Espio?"

"Yup."

"Was he there to investigate?"

"No, actually. He was really depressed and was talking about quitting his job because of not being happy with his life."

"..._Really?_" he asked incredulously.

"I wouldn't lie."

"Hmph... Interesting. So what became of him?"

"Well... that's the bad news. I managed to talk my way out of there with Avy's help. But I was concerned that if Espio left he might still find out what we're up to, so..."

"_So?_"

"Let's just say that if Avy lives up to her name, her and Espio are in bed right now. Use your imagination for the rest."

Shadow could only stare on in disbelief, not even able to say anything more on the point. However, there was no sense dwelling on the issue since there was no changing it now nor was there any more time to waste. They teleported away to continue the task while Snively continued his job of inspecting the incoming vehicles. As he checked off the Eldorado he made a startling discovery. Despite the long delay they'd experienced the rate at which cars were coming in seemed unaffected, if not a little faster. Racing over to a phone on the warehouse wall Snively dialed Robotnik's number to his office.

_"What is it, Snively?"_

"Sir, it seems Plan A has failed. Deliveries are still being made at a consistent rate, if not faster."

_"How many of the orders have been fulfilled?"_

"Approximately sixty percent, sir."

_"Hmm... Keep me updated. If things continue as they are we may have to resort to plan B. After all, we wouldn't want to things to be too easy for the hedgehog and his friends, would we?"_

"No sir, not at all."

_"Good... **NOW GET BACK TO WORK!**"_

"EEEP! YES SIR!"

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_


	26. Detective Work

**Author's Notes:**

I really don't know how to even begin to apologize for the gap between updates, which stands at three and a half months. In my defense that somewhere between starting at a far more demanding college, having a lot happen in my regular life, and turning 21 a few weeks ago, I haven't stopped going up until this past week. I'm sorry you had to wait this long and I hope I haven't lost your interest or support.

I want to apologize ahead of time for this chapter itself. You know when there's just enough tooth paste left in the tube to do the job but it takes forever to get it out? That's what writing this chapter has been like. As far as this section of the story goes I was down to skim pickings as far as ideas. Therefore this chapter may not be as believable or consistent as the others were but I gave it my best shot.

One other note about this chapter. Espio plays a large part of the action in this chapter. Since he's more of the silent type I thought of him as being more of a thinker than a speaker. Therefore a lot of time Espio is used there's italicized lines for him, however it'll probably only be like this for this chapter.

Anyway, to try and make up for all these factors I made this chapter very long (roughly 21000 words) to both give you a nice helping to read due to the delay and also to recognize that this is the last of chapters were mass car theft will occur. Additionally, I heard from quite a few readers about the controversial end of the previous chapter (you may want to re-read it if you don't remember it). All I can say is that this chapter will answer those inquires. I promise you it won't be what you were expecting.

* * *

**(All criticisms/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.)**

* * *

**_Red Team_**

**Knuckles - ****1995 Cizeta-Moroder V16T – _Cindy _**

**Julie-Su - ****1992 Vector W8 Twin Turbo – _Victoria _**

**_Blue Team_**

**Sonic - 2009 Deronda Type G LS7 – _Ronda_ **

**Sally - 2007 n2a Motors 789 Convertible – _Cameron_**

**_Yellow Team_**

**Tails - 2005 Leblanc Mirabeau – _Mirabelle_**

**Chuck - 1970 Chaparral 2J – _Chapa_**

**_Green Team_**

**Manic - 2008 Tesla Roadster**** – _Tessa _**

**Antoine - ****2005 Venturi Fétish **** – _Félicie _**

**_Purple Team_**

**Shadow - 2008 Ducati Desmosedici RR – _Drucilla _**

**Rouge - 2006 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300R Limited – _Suzy _**

**_White Team_**

**Silver - 1983 DMC DeLorean DMC-12 – _Delores _**

**Rotor - 1999 Panoz AIV Roadster – _Pandora _**

**_Cyan Team_**

**Sonia - 1994 Dauer 962 Le Mans – _Darla _**

**Bunnie - 1994 Schuppan 962CR – _Shannon _**

* * *

**Chapter 26 – The Autokrieg (Part 7) - Ratted Out  
**

_"You were right, Avarice. Not letting others control me is exactly what I needed to do."_

Just minutes ago it seemed as though seduction had over-powered the stoic chameleon, at least to Avarice's eyes. Little to her knowledge she, the deceiver, had been deceived. The entire time Espio had known exactly what she was trying to do and only played along as much as he would allow himself to in order to win her trust, a task which he'd achieved rather easily. Though she could never have known it, Espio had gotten the upper hand before he'd ever come upstairs.

The plan unfolded rather quickly. Espio came up to find the feline lying seductively on the mattress, her head resting on her crossed arms as her tail swooshing back and forth. Acting pleased by the sight Espio allowed for her to transition him to the bed and ask what he wanted. Though he would never do so in real life, he asked her to do a slow striptease down to her most intimate garments as per his plan. She did so without hesitation or suspicion of any secondary intentions. While she did this he poured them both glasses of their favorite liquors.

While the cat was in the middle of her routine Espio's plan took full affect. Stealthily taking out the small package he'd had downstairs he opened it to reveal a small capsule filled with a clear liquid. That liquid was a fast-acting sedative capable of knocking out however ingested it for several hours. Dropping the capsule in the liquid-soluble outer casing dissolved within seconds. Espio knew it was normally risky to combine sedatives with alcohol, but this one in particular was a weaker formula and therefore the risk was low.

Returning to the bed the two shared a sip of their drinks, exactly as Espio had been hoping would happen. At that point Espio allowed for the most basic forms of intimacy to occur, mainly a few kisses and touches to himself. After a few minutes Avarice asked why he wasn't doing anything to which he responded he already had. Before she could ask what he meant the drug took affect and the cat fell to the aside in extreme drowsyness and within another minute was completely knocked out.

"What an insult it is to think you could actually seduce me into your intentions. And to think of what I had to do to get to this point. I will have to endure much meditation and self-cleansing for what I just allowed myself to do. But all of that if for another time. Now it's time to figure out just who you are."

Due to her willingness to strip Espio had full access to all the evidence Avarice had on her without having to search her. He therefore he felt no guilt in searching the pile of discarded clothes. He found nothing of interest in the green shirt, shoes, or socks. In the various jacket pockets he found a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a crumpled chartreuse label, a green Ipod, and a handful of various pieces of paper with names, phone numbers, locations, and other random bits of information that he could not make sense of.

_"It seems this Avarice gets around. But I still don't know enough."_

All that was left was the pair of pants. Searching the pockets he found approximately five hundred dollars wrapped with a money clip with the name of a male on it, a wallet, the keys to Avarice's motorcycle, and a green Motorola Razor phone. Looking through the wallet he found numerous credit cards, some of which looked rather old and lead him to believe still had unpaid balances. He then finally found something he'd been looking for, a driver's license.

_"So your real name is Kelley Greene... you live in an apartment complex in one of the poorest parts of town... you're younger than your "sister" Rouge... and this license has recently expired... My my... You're not only probably in debt to who knows how many people and companies, but you're also clearly not living a crime-free life. Judging by what I've found here I can contact the authorities on you right now. However... let's see what I can find in your phone."_

Booting up the mobile phone Espio searched through the various contacts of which there were many, most of them seeming to be males. He did spot Rouge's name amongst the list so he had a feeling that a little deeper digging would find him what he wanted. He looked through the voice messages and only found one of them was from Rouge. He activated the message and listened eagerly.

**"Avy, it's Ro. I know you're hurting for money a bit these days and need some help. Funny thing is I need help too. I can't go into detail, but there's a big job coming up that I'm going to be helping some friends with and a very big pay off at the end. Come meet me the next chance you get and we'll talk this over since I need somebody to watch my club that night. Call me back if you're interested, and for God's sakes don't talk about this with _anybody_."**

For a moment none of the message made any sense, but then Espio almost dropped the phone as any thoughts he had of arresting Avarice went away. Though he'd tricked the now sedated feline he had, in fact, been tricked by the devilishly clever Rouge. Now it made perfect sense why she stammered when he'd pushed her about the Cadillac he thought she owned. He realized she just might be tied to the car theft Nack the Weasel was responsible for.

Realizing that Rouge may have gotten away with what he now suspected was a stolen Cadillac, and the fact that Avarice was somehow involved with the case, he had to find another lead to try and figure out just what was going on. His only hope was the text message section. Once again there was only one that he could find from Rouge that was recent. He prayed it told him what he needed to know.

**"On our way to come and get you and Amy. Hang tight."**

Once again Espio was confused. _"Wait a second... Amy? As in Amy **Rose**? Is Amy Rose involved with this too along with Rouge and Kelley?... And "**our** way"? Who's the other person Rouge was referring to? Who else could possibly be connected to this? Who am I overlooking?"_

A sudden pulse went off in Espio's brain. It was a thin lead based on on circumstantial evidence and assumption, but all of a sudden he had an idea.

_"**Manic**... He's Amy's boyfriend... and he and Rouge are both ex-thieves and criminals... Perhaps he and Rouge have teamed up and were on the same job as Nack... That would explain why Nack was here and why he tried to kill Manic and the others that were with him last night..."_

He was about to dart from the room when, despite the critical situation, Espio felt it would be indecent of him to leave a woman so exposed on the bed. He pulled a cover over her to at least keep her from sight, though he certainly felt no sympathy or compassion for her.

"I'll deal with you later. Right now I have something far more important to do."

For good measure Espio made a quick search of the living quarters for any clues. Though he didn't find anything physical he did notice a good chunk of the wardrobe was missing, leading him to further believe Rouge was up to something. From there he gave the main club room and storage rooms a once over but found nothing. He didn't expect he would, however, because he knew that Rouge was too smart to leave such obvious clues lying about.

Sprinting from the club Espio burst out the back door, the only one he knew was open. He ran towards the parking lot and his bike, performing a dazzling back-flip jump onto it. However, as he felt around his pockets he realized he couldn't find his keys to his motorcycle. He searched every pocket he had but came up empty.

"Where the hell are my keys! I just had them! If I dropped them somewhere in my haste they could be anywhere!"

That's when he realized that he still had the keys to Avarice's motorcycle, which he knew was faster and more superior than his own. It only took a moment for him to make his next decision.

"I will feel much guilt for this later, but my duty calls for and justifies this."

Knowing what he had to do Espio stripped off a clip-on police strobe-light and siren along with the small police radio he had attached to his bike and ran back down the alley to the green and black Ninja ZX-10R that was so conveniently waiting for him. Taking out Avarice's keys he got the powerful motorcycle started and roared away out of the alley.

As he sped away from the club on a motorcycle that didn't belong to him Espio's mind was flooded with a torrent of thoughts. _"Manic's house is about a half hour away. I better be careful and take my time so I don't get caught with something that isn't mine... I hope you have a good explanation for this, Manic. If you don't you're headed straight for jail."_

* * *

At just about the same time Snively was getting nervous at the drop-off. In the past hour the completion percentage jumped from nearly sixty to nearly seventy percent. And since there were a hundred cars the percent number was the same as the number of cars stolen, that left only about a mere thirty to go. As he had been instructed the lackey contacted his boss.

_"Does this deal with what I think it does, Snively?"_

"Uhh... y-yes sir..."

_"I'm going to be quite clear, dear nephew. If you say that progress is anything above eighty percent consider yourself... __terminated."_

"Eeep!..."

_"Well?"_

"We're at... um... about seventy percent."

_"Oh? That's not as bad as I thought it would be. There's still four hours to go... You do know what this means, correct?"_

"Plan B... sir?"

_"Isn't it obvious?"_

"Yes sir, of course it is!"

_"Good. Then get on it... And Snively?"_

"Sir?"

_"Do make sure they can't trace it back to us."_

"They won't, sir. I promise."

_"I hope so. Otherwise I'll be testing out the roboticizer on you first."_

"I understand, sir." he said as he hung up the phone. "Of course you won't do that, you fat, stupid bastard. Without me half your operations wouldn't have gotten of the ground" he grumbled to himself.

Since Plan B had existed all along in the case that the team completed the mission faster than expected Snively retrieved a cell-phone that Robotnik had created to be good for one call and one call only, meaning it would be untraceable so long as the caller did not make it obvious who is was. Snivley prepared to play a recorded message with the appropriate information and then through a computer altered the voice. Then, using the one-time phone, he dialed a three digit number.

_"S.S.P.D. Tips and Information Hotline."_

"Yes, hello, I'd like to report what I believe is the ongoing activities of a criminal operation."

_"Okay, what do you know?"_

"I have reason to believe that many of the most expensive and exclusive vehicles in this city are currently or will be stolen sometimes before the sun rises."

_"I see. Do you have any specific information?."_

"Only that the operation is proceeding as we speak and that only the finest automobiles are the targets."

_"That's not very reliable information to go on."_

"Fine, but when tomorrow comes and you start getting report after report of stolen cars I'll be able to say I told you so."

_"Okay, we'll get this information out to our officers as fast as we can and tell them to look for any suspicious activity with automobiles."_

"That's better. Oh, and one more thing."

_"Yes?"_

"Make sure this information is kept strictly anonymous."

Snively cut the call at that point. He grinned viscously knowing that things were about to get a lot more complicated for Sonic and Co. He only wished that it were himself that were in control because he would have announced all of the cars that were to be stolen from the very beginning, but Robotnik had said otherwise and warned that he wanted it done this way to keep to his plans, though he refused to admit what they were yet.

* * *

Close to a half hour later it was nearing 4 A.M. as Espio came to a halt in an alley just down the way from Manic's house. He'd parked there just by chance, but chance was what also awaited for him. As he'd been walking down the alley he noticed small, metallic cylinders on the ground, identifying them as 7.62x54Rmm bullet shells. Looking up he noted the fire escape on the abandoned apartment complex. Managing to ascend the flights he got to the point were he found a few more shells on the steps. He noted how great a vantage point the position had to Manic's house.

_"So Nack had originally tried to get them from here. They never told us that he'd tried to get them at the house... It makes me wonder what might have lead Nack to wanting to get them here."_

Climbing down from the fire escape Espio made his way over to the house, which was dark and silent. Since it was late at night there was always the possibility that Manic was just sleeping, hence the darkness and quietness of the location. Taking a look around he could see one or two areas where bullets had struck or ricocheted, but he also noted that more of them were aimed towards the garage area, not the house. That, plus the fact that the garage was open with a car under a tarp inside it left Espio suspicious.

_"So it seems Nack may have been interested in this car... But... Manic's car was wrecked last night... that means that this one either wasn't here then or... it doesn't belong to him and was here... Hmm... Now it's sitting here unprotected?... This does not add up."_

Although the street was deserted, which was almost always the case, Espio stuck to the shadows and crept his way to the garage. Once inside he lifted the rear of the vehicle tarp, exposing Antoine's black car underneath. Espio cocked an eyebrow at his discovery.

"An old BMW 750 iL? It certainly has enough power to keep Manic happy, but this is not the kind of car he would drive."

Espio checked to see if anybody was coming, but of course there wasn't. Using a small lock-pick he always carried with him he tried to pry the trunk lock open but found the latch was faulty. Taking another quick peek around Espio delivered a solid slam of the fist to above the lock and the trunk popped right open. Inside he found three different suitcases which, thanks to his training, took little time to pick open. Due to the darkness Espio couldn't study the contents fully but he could still see what they were. The first was filled with money, wads of bills stacked into piles easily reaching into the thousands of dollars. The second case yielded what appeared to be cocaine.

_"What the hell is going on here?. Money and drugs? What has the owner of this car been up to?... What if this is **Manic's** car! Could it be that Manic has returned to his old ways?"_

Wanting to see just how much more strange things could get Espio opened the third case, the largest of all of them. Despite his ninja training that was supposed to keep him undetected he gasped when he saw what was inside. The case was segmented into six compartments, each one containing two Glock 18C's and four fully loaded magazines. Worst of all, one compartment was empty, meaning that someone somewhere in the city had possession of the lethal weapons.

_"How did these get onto the streets! In the wrong hands, or the **right** hands, these could cause countless amounts of violence!... But what in the name of Mobius are they doing here? Why, or even how, could Manic get such things like this? Then again... he once had connections to the black market. Could he have somehow gotten these from there?. This is really starting to get ugly... Hey... What's this?"_

Espio found a fourth piece of baggage in the car, a black garment bag. Unzipping the case Espio reached in and pulled the coat he felt out of the bag. Despite being cold-blooded already, Espio's blood ran even colder when he saw the red and blue royalty jacket inside with gold shoulder tassels.

_"Oh my God... This belongs to Antoine D'Coolette! What is it doing here! Antoine and his father were on vacation in their homeland so... either this is another set of the same uniform, or... Oh no... Could it be that Manic has kidnapped Antoine and is holding him for ransom!"_

Espio looked to the house. "It can no longer be avoided... I'm going into the damn house!"

Closing the trunk quickly but quietly Espio retreated to the rear of the house and, calling on his gifted climbing ability, ascended to the roof of the domicile. Once on top the priority was to find an entry point without having to cause damage. He found this entrance via a skylight window leading into the bathroom. Opening the passage only as far as needed to enter, and no more that that, he lowered himself in, his arm muscles burning as he held his entire body weight while trying to find a foothold. Realizing there was nothing to make his descent easier he lowered himself a couple inches more, hanging by his fingertips only, and released. His landing yielded only a muffled thump thanks to his training.

Looking around in the darkness Espio could see enough thanks once again to his training but also his naturally adroit eyesight. Exiting the bathroom led him to a corridor that to one end he could see a closed door, the other to what looked like the kitchen, and in the another path right in front of him that had another closed door and lead to the main room. Checking the closed door first he found a set of treacherous looking stairs leading to the basement. He chose not to go down them since the dust on them, just visible thanks to a few small vent windows, looked as though it had built up for a while and was undisturbed, thus he would leave tracks. Backtracking to the kitchen the only thing that took to the chameleon's interest was the seemingly large amount of discarded fast food packages in the over-flowing trash bin, but this didn't tell him much.

_"Knowing Manic he could easily has let that build up or he might have ate it all over the course of one day. I pity his health if so. But if not it's not enough to go on."_

From the kitchen he went into what essentially was the main room of the house, a dining room and living room all in one. Before tackling that he went back to the hall he'd seen earlier. It was Manic's bedroom which contained only an unkempt bed, a drum set, a closet slung open and stuffed with a mound of various clothes and boxes. Espio glanced over the pile very quickly and sifted through a box or two but found nothing of interest. The only other thing he found in the room was a small computer desk with a laptop docking station, but the computer was missing.

Going back out into the main room to look for the computer Espio was sidetracked when something else caught his eye. A vent grill on the wall had fallen off. Reaching down inside he felt the cold steel of a pair of revolvers and a warm leather of a belt strap and holsters. Retrieving them he recognized the stitching designs on the belt and metal working on the Smith and Wesson Model 625 revolvers. He also spotted a double-barrel laser pistol down in the vent as well

_"These belong to Bunnie Rabbot and that belongs to Julie-Su. So Manic is collecting firearms, both legal and illegal. Very interesting and **very** incriminating. How he got these I can't even begin to imagine. But I still want something extremely solid... And I think it's right there."_

Espio put the weapons down on the dinner table which currently was occupied only by a lone laptop, the item he'd been looking for. Opening the screen he was met with an obvious request for an access password. It was here that he grinned.

"Hmph. A simple password won't stop me."

Taking out his iPhone Espio plugged into the computer with a USB cable and activated an application he'd had custom made for hacking into computers. Essentially it found the quickest possible way to bypass a computer's need for a password and hack directly into the device, thus allowing access. Although it took a minute or two to bypass all of Manic's well-created security measures it was still no match for the expertly-crafted program. The phone displayed a screen that asked if he would like to proceed with the entry.

"Damn straight I want to."

Sure enough the lap top screen went on the fritz for a moment, then went straight to the desktop. Espio was so eager to check the Manic's internet browser for clues he neglected the minimized program at the bottom. Checking Manic's history, favorites, and preferences Espio was confused to why he didn't find any clues. That was, until, he spotted the program at the bottom.

_"Hmph, I missed these. Let's see what's behind door number one."_

Espio had seen some truly amazing and shocking things in his career as a detective, ninja, and spy, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next. He found himself looking at an extensive list of vehicle makes and models, along with the address/location, code name, a picture of each vehicle, and a small box that was either blank or highlighted next to the word "delivered." As he he scrolled through the list it all started to come together for him.

_"Woah... **WOAH**... This is it... **This is it!**... What now, Vector! I told you Manic had something to do with this! I just knew it! Manic has returned to his old ways. Judging by this list he probably hired Rouge with all that cash out in the trunk of that BMW and plans on selling the drugs and guns for even more money to hire more people to steal for him and buy his way into a new crime syndicate... I need copy all of this data and take it to the S.S.P.D. and Vector. I'll see to it personally that Manic doesn't get away with this!"_

First, to prove that he didn't make the info up, Espio took pictures of the laptop screen with views of the house using his iPhone's camera. Then, he moved on to taking all of the data on the computer.

_"Data retrieval isn't exactly my specialty... but this time I've got some help."_

Using another specially designed application Espio downloaded all of the list onto his phone. Pleased with his success Espio closed the computer and prepared to leave when he suddenly heard the front door unlock in front of him.

_"Shit!"_

* * *

**(GREEN)**

"Dude, what is up with the cops all of a sudden?" Manic asked as he entered the side of the main room opposite the dining table.

"I am not knoweeng, but eet eez of a beeg concern, yes?" Antoine answered close behind.

"Uh-huh. It's like we went the whole night without hardly seeing them."

"Unless you are counteeng zee run een we 'ad at zee BMW deelersheep."

"Well yeah, but that was normal when you think about it. But now they're freaking everywhere!" he pointed out, logging into his laptop.

"Oui, eet eez strange."

"Yup. But back to the main point, did everything seem fine with your car out there?"

"Oui, eet eez fine, and eet's contents."

"Cool. Oh, and if you gotta use the john now would be the time."

"Zat eez a good ideea. I shall reeturn."

"Alright, but hurry. For all we know the cops could be close by."

The two members of Team Green parted ways to do as they said, not aware of how accurate Manic's statement was. In fact, it was an understatement. Neither of them had noticed the fact that Espio was hanging above them, his chameleon abilities allowing him to cling to the ceiling. Also, he'd activated his ability to turn invisible, meaning that in the dark seeing him would be impossible.

_"What the hell did they come from!... And why is Antoine is here! How can it be! And how could it be that he is the owner of that car outside and all that's in it! HOW COULD HE EVEN BE ON THEIR SIDE! **WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!**"_

Having been so lost in his own thoughts Espio only just noticed the light from laptop screen was helping cast a slight shadow of himself on the ceiling. As slow as he could, Espio inched his way in the opposite direction of the screen to get back into the shadows.

"What the?..."

Espio froze in place, fearing he'd been spotted. Manic had indeed spotted something, but it was down at the other end of the table from him. Moving only his eyes to see Espio spotted Bunnie's revolvers that he'd left out.

"Dammit, Shadow. Couldn't bother to put these and the vent cover back, could you?" the hedgehog said to himself as he put the weapons back in their hiding place.

Hearing the name nearly made Espio let go. _"Of course! That must be who Rouge was referring to! Her and Shadow are in on this too!"_

Just over two minutes passed. Normally this wasn't a long time, but when hanging upside-down from the ceiling with nothing more than ones fingers it becomes tiring quite fast. Espio's muscles burned, begging him to let go, but he couldn't without being seen. Worse still, sweat began to seep from the chameleon's pours, threatening to fall on whatever may be underneath him at that moment.

Manic closed the screen to the laptop, eliminating the potential for him being seen because of his shadow. However, Manic's didn't leave right away, rather he went over by a window to open it at the house had become a bit stuffy from being closed up. As it was Manic was now directly under Espio. The chameleon stopped his own breathing for fear of getting caught, but a new problem had emerged. A bead of sweat had run down the length of the yellow horn on his face and swayed precariously on the end of it, threatening to drop.

_"Move Manic... Move..."_ The drop was growing larger as bit of sweat piled up at the tip, now to the point where a drop was inevitable. _"Move... **move**... **MOVE, DAMMIT!**"_

Manic took a deep breath of the breeze coming in through the window as he stretched his muscles, tilting his head back and shutting his eyes as he did. Although he was practically invisible Espio knew if he opened his eyes it was over. This thought caused him to shudder ever so slightly, but it was enough for the drop to come loose. In practically slow motion Espio watched as what would be the factor that would lead to his presence being detected.

At virtually the last second Manic whipped his head away in a sneeze that came from him tilting his head back. Espio was so relieved he almost forgot to hang on to the ceiling.

"Shake it off, Antoine! We gotta get moving!"

"I'll be out een zee meenute! You go wait for me outside, yes?"

"Good idea. I'll keep an eye out for cops."

"Zat eez why I say so."

Shrugging Manic quickly exited the house. Not wanting to end up stuck again Espio did a quick release from the ceiling and a rolling landing that emitted no more than a light thump.

_"Phew... A little too close for my standards..."_

The sound of approaching footsteps made Espio retreat to the shadows once again. He watched as Antoine, or at least who he thought was Antoine, walk by, tucking a cell phone away into his pocket.

_"I wonder who he called?"_

once Antoine had left the house Espio went to see where the two had gone. He carefully snuck up to a front window and peeked over. He just caught a glimpse of a pair of electric cars pulling away from out front of the house.

_"Electric... no wonder I didn't hear them coming... Wait... ANTOINE AND MANIC WERE DRIVING!... Where the hell did they get those from! There's no way those belong to either of them!"_

There was only one place Espio thought he could get an answer. Sneaking out of the house Espio made it back to his confiscated motorcycle and activated the radio. He tuned to the frequency of the S.S.P.D. As he'd been tuning he did, however, noticed the the police air waves seemed quite busy despite the hour.

"Dispatch, this is Detective Espio, do you copy?" There was no answer so after several seconds so he tried again. "_Dispatch_, this is detective Espio, _do you copy_?" There was still no answer but there was plenty of radio chatter, most of which Espio tuned out due to his determination to get through.

"**Dispatch, this is Detective Espio! Emergency! Do you copy!**"

_"...Affirmative, Detective Espio. Read you loud and clear."_

"Pardon me for asking so but what took so long? Is a coffee break more important?"

_"Negative, Detective. We have been inundated with activity from officers on the streets and we are doing our best to keep up with everybody."_

"Heavy activity? At just after four in the morning?"

_"Yes Detective. Just a short time ago we received an anonymous tip informing us of a large-scale crime operation going on as we speak."_

"Dispatch, would that tip have anything to do with Grand Theft Auto reports?"

_"How did you know that, Detective?"_

"Because I've been part of an investigation all week dealing with a high number of high-end car thefts in the past week or so. Just moments ago I made a break-through and discovered the list of all the automobiles that I believe are the targets."

"We've already received a report of stolen cars too."

"Really? How many were reported?"

_"There was no specific number given. All we were told is that high-end vehicles are the target and that the operation is on-going."_

"I see..."

_"Is something wrong, Detective?"_

"No. Given my findings and your information I will assist the S.S.P.D. in any way possible with any reports of suspicious or stolen vehicles."

_"10-4 Detective. Thank you and good luck."_

"Roger that, Detective Espio out."

As if things weren't already confusing enough now there were even more inconsistencies in information sources. "Clearly I'm not the only one who knows something about this. And it seems that this operation is very similar, if not the same one that we stumbled upon earlier in the week."

Mounting the motorbike and getting it started Espio thought about how quickly things had changed in such a short period of time. It made him reflect on his possible decisions earlier. _"I still don't know if this is the right path for me in life... but for tonight, it is. I must get to the bottom of this and stop whoever or whatever is responsible for this vexatious crime spree."_

_"Attention all units, two 10-107's with possible code 487 has been reported at Station Square Motor Sports Park. Any units in the area are to investigate. 10-0. Dispatch out."_

_"Suspicious persons... possible grand theft... and use caution... sounds like the kind of thing I'm looking for. But it's too far away to reach quickly. I'll go see if I can track down Manic and Antoine... if it **is** him... first," Espio thought to himself.  
_

Espio had a good idea where Manic and, what he thought was Antoine, probably were. The detective knew that there were only a few arterial roads that went through this area and one was relatively close by. His intuition told them that they would probably take that out of there since it was the fastest way.

The truth was that Manic and Antoine were cruising along back streets and even alley ways. Their rationale was based simply on the fact that they'd seen increased police activity and didn't want to take a chance getting caught. An added bonus was that since Manic lived in the area he knew it well and was able to take them on the safest route possible.

_"Maneek, are you theenkeeng zis eez zee best way?"_

"I don't think so."

_"What! Why are we takeeng zis way, zen!"_

"Because I know it's the best way."

_"Oh...Zat's good..."_

"Hey, what's up with you all of a sudden, Antoine? You're all jittery and stuff."

_"Eet's no beeg deel... Well, eet eez, but-"_

"You're worried about the cops?"

_"Oui, but eet's just zat-"_

"Forget it, dude. We'll be fine. We just gotta keep going the way were are and we'll be done this job before the sun even comes up."

_"Eet's not just zat, Maneek."_

"Then what's up?"

_"Eet's just... when zis eez all over... I 'ave zis feeleeng zat theengs won't be as we 'ave planned zem."_

"Don't even go there, dude. You're just letting your mind get the better of you because you're tired. Just relax."

_"Zat eez seempler said zen done."_

"Just give it a shot... Alright, we're at the end of this path. We'll have to cross over to the next."

Leaving the safety of smaller roads they ventured out to the main avenue running through the area. Rolling almost silently down this road they weren't aware that a quarter-mile behind them Espio had just rounded a corner and spotted their them up ahead.

_"There they are,"_ the chameleon thought to himself. _"But I need to keep my distance. I may not get another chance like this."_

With such a wide berth between the two of them it would have been easy to overlook that Espio was there. Antoine, in his heightened state of awareness, glanced into his review and spotted the headlight behind them.

_"Maneek... look een zee back of us."_

"What?"

_"You see zat?"_

"You mean the motorcycle?"

_"Oui."_

"What about it?"

_"I don't like eet."_

"It's just some random dude on a bike, what's the problem?"

_"I theenk we should geet out of 'ere fast, yes?"_

"Nah, there's nothing to worry about."

_"You do as you weesh! Au revoir!"_

With nothing more then a slight whir Antoine's French-made Venturi electric car jolted ahead down the main avenue. For a moment Manic stayed at his current speed, thinking that Antoine was only going to panic for a moment and then come to his senses. As the taillights of the coyotes car got smaller, however, Manic figured out that Antoine wasn't going to stop. With a huff Manic too accelerated to catch up with his partner.

Behind them Espio watched as his lead was quickly getting away from him. Not wanting to lose them again Espio opened his throttle, but perhaps a little too much so. His bike lurched off its front wheel slightly and the exhaust let out a pronounced bark.

Manic saw this in his rear view and grew concerned. Being that the part of town he lived in wasn't the best he'd seen his fair share of troublemakers. In particular, Manic recalled one time seeing a motorcycle gang trying to run down and stop a semi-truck driving through the area. They'd had similar behavior to the way the motorcyclist behind them was acting.

Fearing they might have stumbled upon a patrol unit for some bike gang Manic mashed his accelerator down. The sudden burst of torque slammed him back into his seat and he caught up to Antoine in no time.

_"Eet's about zee time, Maneek!"_

"Run dude! RUN!"

_"What eez eet!"_

"I think that guy is part of a biker gang! I've seen them around here before!"

_"Merde! I told you zat eet was bad!"_

"I know! Follow me, I know where to go!"

The pair veered off onto a diagonal road towards one of the only significant structures in the area, a series of high voltage power lines. Manic knew that there was a path that lead down those lines and he thought they could use that to get off the roads and try to shake the "biker."

Normally there would have been a closed fence blocking the path that Manic knew he would have had to bust through, thus damaging the rare Tesla he was driving. Tonight, however, they were in luck. A substation a short way down the path was currently being worked on, meaning the fence was a wide open invitation.

Not wanting to waste time to talk via their comm-link, Manic flicked on his left turn signal and positioned for a high-speed turn into the driveway under the power lines. Only the sound of screeching tires and faint tail light trails gave Espio, who had just rounded the corner, any signal of the way they'd taken.

With the direct power of their vehicles Manic and Antoine put a fair bit of distance between themselves and Espio by the time he got to the entrance. When he saw how far ahead the others had gotten Espio almost forgot to hang onto the handlebars.

"Dammit, they're getting away!" he panicked, summoning every ounce of power out of all 998 cc's of the bike's engine.

Even with Espio's dramatic speed the two escapees were nearly home free. They'd reached the end of the path where the substation was. The gates to this were open as well, giving them full access to the road beyond and a clear getaway. Staying true to the pact of not hurting anybody in performing the operation Manic and Antoine blasted their horns tow warn the electric workers as they jolted through the substation and out onto the straightaway beyond.

"Keep going, Antoine! We're gonna get away!"

_"**MAGNEEFEEK!**"_

Just as they'd cleared the exit of the substation they cut of an electrical company truck that was arriving on scene, causing the vehicle to lurch to a stop. This, in turn, kept it out of the view of Espio who was coming up to the station fast. Since no harm was done the truck went about its business and turned into the substation.

They few seconds the truck had spent stopped outside the station made all the difference. Espio spotted the truck blocking his only exit and in a fraction of a second had to make a decision. To try and turn away from the substation meant he'd have to thread himself between supports of the power lines, an impossible task at this speed. If braked gently he would sail right on through the substation and into the work truck. If he slammed on the brakes he'd fly right over the handle bars. And in all these situations he'd probably end up dead.

With barely any time to react Espio pulled the brakes about halfway and shifted his weight, causing the bike to skid to the left and into the main workings of the power substation. Out of the corned of his eye the chameleon could see he was skidding right towards a group of sagging power cables and exposed electrical equipment.

_"So this is how it ends..."_ was all he could think.

Bracing for impact Espio slipped his feet to the ground to try and slow down any last bit to try and save himself. With a thud he came to a halt up against a large transformer. Thanks to his quick thinking he'd slowed himself down to a pace that when he hit he'd almost come to a stop. Even so he was a bit sore on his right side from the impact. He couldn't help but notice, though, that he wasn't being electrocuted. By luck, the very truck that had blocked his escape had come there to turn the power back on.

The other thing Espio noticed was how angry all the worked were around him. What they were saying he couldn't tell nor care due to both the extreme adrenaline rush as well as the frustration clouding his mind. Flicking on his pursuit lights to show he meant business the detective spun the bike around in a burnout and sped through the retreating crowd of workers, past the work truck, and out onto the road. He found it to be completely deserted.

Coming to another stop Espio stared at the empty road, as if it was somehow going to make his only lead reappear. Naturally his sense told him this wasn't going to happen and that by now they were well beyond his ability to reacquire them.

_"Yet again I've failed... but there's still hope."_

Espio recalled hearing the report over the radio about suspicious activity at the motor sports park. Although it was a long way off at this point it was the only chance he had. Espio radioed in a quick message about the the two cars he'd been following and this guess of their general vicinity. At least somebody else might find them and then he could go back, but he didn't hold much hope for that as he turned away and started to make the long trek to the city's racetracks.

* * *

**(YELLOW)**

Outside the city the motor sports park sat silence. The oval super speedway and adjacent road course high-speed ring were void of the fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping, heart-stopping actions that took place there on a daily basis. However, two hearts were beating fast within the compounds, one at each track, not for the thrill of racing but the fear of getting caught.

Like many of the other teams Tails and Uncle Chuck had noticed the increased police presence in their travels. More importantly, they knew this racetrack was in an area of higher risk as far as security and detection possibilities went. Knowing they were getting closer to the end of this hellish night they worked swiftly to try and get things done as quickly as possible. However, they did so at the cost of not playing things as safe as they had been. At the moment, Team Yellow had divided up to acquire "Chapa" and "Mirabelle," both of whom were being reluctant to leave.

_"Tails, how are things going?"_ Chuck called from the road course.

"I'm getting there, but I'm really ticked off" Tails sighed from underneath the Swiss yellow super car her was working on.

_"Why?"_

"I may be a mechanical expert, but this thing is a nightmare. It's tough to figure out how something goes together in and of itself."

_"It's especially time consuming when it was left disassembled in the middle of a repair. And time is anything but on our side right now."_

"I hear you. Anyway, how about you? Any luck with yours?"

_"The main engine was easy, but of all things figuring out this car's traction system is, well... a bit more complicated than I thought. I think I got it, though."_

"Join the club."

_"More like a prison cell if we don't get moving."_

"You're right. I'm wrapping up. We'll talk once we're outta here."

_"Roger that."_

Tails was putting the finishing touches on the Leblanc when, unknown to him, a police car had entered the far side of the garage area, investing the very call that Espio had heard only minutes ago. To avoid possible detection the squad car used no lights of any kind as it prowled around the facilities, slowing getting closer to Tails' position.

"Time to see if I got it right" Tails said to himself, taking a seat within the car.

It took a few attempts, but finally the engine turned over, the racing exhaust making an deafening racket in the garage. Being a race car this was an unavoidable occurrence, but for all Tails knew, nobody else could hear him. Since the car had no windshield Tails lowered his goggles onto his eyes as he pulled out of the garage and turned to the nearest exit route. He practically crashed into the squad car that had just come around the same corner.

**"****YOU THERE! GET OUT OF THE CAR WITH YOU HANDS UP!"** the officer shouted over the car's P.A. system.

The only cover Tails had was the fact that the headlights on "Mirabelle" were brand new. Tails clicked them on, blinding the officer so he couldn't identify him. Jamming the transmission into reverse Tails sped away from the car and into a clearing of building were he wrenched the wheel around and spun 180 degrees. He tried to race for another exit he knew was there but was met by another police car. There was only one other way out now. Taking another tight turn Tails entered the race track's pit lane and went down it faster than any car probably ever had. From there he got out onto the main over speedway and put the gas pedal to the floor.

The supercharged V8 easily left the cops in the dust but even so things were now serious. Gearing down he took the far banked turn at high speed, the tires threatening to let go as the body bounced and bobbled under the extreme forces it was under. Coming out of the turn and applying heavy braking Tails came to a stop at a metal gate the blocked a road that tow trucks and ambulances would use in case of an emergency. Since the car had an open cockpit he jumped from the car and used his twin appendages in a spinning attack and bashed the gate open and got back inside in little time.

Spotting the red and blue lights of the police cars as they came around the bottom of the turn he hit the gas and got going. The small road put Tails out behind the race track on another small road. One way lead to a clear exit, the other to the road course. Tails was about to dash for it when a disheartening message came over his communicator.

_"Tails, I'm in trouble! I got two cops on my tail and they're chasing me around the track! Help me!"_

Escape was right there in front of him, but Tails knew he could never leave Chuck to fend for himself. Turning to the right he sped down the small access road towards the road course. Glancing in the rear view mirror the potential escape route, as well as the exit from the oval track, now were both blocked by squad cars. Tails prayed that there was going to be some way out on the other side.

"I'm coming, Uncle Chuck! Just hang on!"

_"Hurry, Tails! I can't hold them off much longer!"_

It didn't take long to reach the road course but when he did the bizarre sight of a race car being followed by police cars was a first for the fox. The first thing that became obvious was that Chuck's car was never designed to have headlights, thus getting around the track was only possible by using the lights of the cop cars behind him. Knowing he had only one choice Tails spotted an open track-side access point and jutted out in front of the whole pack, providing a guide for Chuck.

_"Tails, what are you doing!"_

"Showing you the way!"

_"But now they might get us both!"_

"Just keep them off of us for a bit more! I'll find us a way out of this!"

After another turn or two down a straightaway Tails spotted their way out. Part of the track's outer guard rails had been removed and there was a small set of construction vehicles present where a watch tower for the rear of the track was going to be built. Behind this site there was a dirt road that Tails was sure they could get away on.

"Uncle Chuck, do you see that over there!"

_"Yes!"_

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do! Make it look like we're gonna take the turn and then go back towards that construction work!"

_"But we'll spin if we do that!"_

"It's our only chance! Get ready, it's coming!"

Just as the two of them entered a right hand turn they went that way then jerked back to the left. Predictably they spun wildly on the infield, flying right at the outer wall. The cops cars momentarily continued on in the directing of the track, having not been able to see the quick move coming. Fortunately Tails got his car stopped before hitting the wall. Chuck did too, but his car got stuck in the dirt, the race car's wheels spinning wildly and kicking up a dirt screen.

"Dammit, I'm trapped!" Chuck yelled to Tails since they were so close.

"Hang on! I'll nudge ya out!"

Using "Mirabelle's" wedge-shaped nose Tails shimmied Chuck out of the thick dirt. By now the police were closing back in on them, though they all were still a little ways away. Getting onto the dirt road a single brave squad car rushed ahead of the others to keep on them.

_"Tails, behind us!"_

"Shit! Now what!... Wait, I know!... Your car's traction system! It'll suck up the dirt and blow it out the back!"

_"You're right! I just hope it works!"_

Flicking a switch on the 2J's dash the car's vacuum traction system sputtered, trying to come to life. Chuck flicked the switch several times as they negotiated the thin dirt road but it wouldn't turn on. Finally with a loud exclamation of profanity Chuck slammed his fist down on the dash and with a load backfire the traction system turned on, it's loud exhaust note drowning out the primary engine. As soon as it turned on whatever was on the road, dirt, stones, and anything else were sucked up through the car and shout out the back vent fans. This barrage of debris made it impossible for the solo cop car to see and it stopped, thus blocking the road for the further tailing units.

_"We lost them!"_

"Great! There's a road up ahead!"

Luckily the dirt road had lead them to a small back street running behind the motor sports park. More importantly it appeared as though there were no cops around. Getting back onto the main road Tails lead the way for Chuck who had just turned off the traction system for the sound it made would easily give them away. The back road lead them to a main road that they turned onto and away from the race tracks. They only got a quarter mile away when they could see red and blue lights on the road ahead. They could also see the lights of the cars behind them that they'd gotten ahead of.

Before Chuck could even say anything on his communicator Tails spotted another small road up ahead, this time paved. Tails pointed to it and they shot down that, finding an abandoned barn and overgrown weed field at the end. They both stopped inside and tuned off their engines, slamming the doors of the building shut. Through the dilapidated building's crevices they could see a number of cop cars go by in either direction. The inbound cars went right by, but on of the outbound group stopped at the entrance of the driveway and shinned its spotlight down it. Tails and Chuck hit the deck, hoping they wouldn't be seen. After a moment or two the car turned around back towards the track.

"That was close" Tails stated.

"Way too close" Chuck added, out of breath.

"What the hell is going on? How could they have known we were there?"

"I don't know. None of it makes sense."

"Yeah... It's almost as if they knew we were there, given how orchestrated it was."

"Indeed. This was no coincidence. They were looking for us, no doubt about it."

"And they still are."

"You're right. Let's get out of here."

Getting back to the main road they saw plenty of police activity around the motor sports park. There was even a helicopter approaching in the distance. Taking a quick look on his communicator's GPS they were only a few miles from Route 280. With all attention on the motor sports park they were able to sneak away down the back roads without being detected. Even so they both knew that they wouldn't be safe until they got back to the drop-off as there would surely be other patrols looking for them.

* * *

**(CYAN)**

A short while later found another pair of street-legal race cars on the run. The pair of girls had a pair of squad cars on the six o'clock of their 962-based vehicles as they sped through the last bit of farmland on the outer-skirts of the deep suburbs. This far out meant that the threat of further units showing up was low, but it also meant that it was going to be harder since there wasn't much around.

"Ah'm really startin' to ticked off!"

_"You think? We started off, like, right outside the city, now we're in the sticks!"_

"A'h know!"

_"We just need something to confuse these guys!"_

Glancing up the road the first significant object they'd seen in a few minutes came into range of Bunnie's headlights. It was sign to one of the farms named "Big Lake Farm." Bunnie's knowledge of farms and how they got their names gave her and inclination as to why this was so. Instinctively she made the quick turn to enter the location, but it was so fast that Sonia and the closer of the two cop cars couldn't react. Now the two girls were separated with a tail on each of them.

"What are you doing! Am I not that important anymore!"

_"Just shad-ap and listen! Try to find another way in and get to the lake!"_

"Why?"

_"JUST USE YAH HEAD FOR ONCE!"_

As Bunnie and her pursuer took off into the farm Sonia kept on the main road until she found a dirt road on the far side of land. It was a tight turn onto it and she took it so wide the right side wheels of "Darla" went over the side of the road and made her fish-tail back and forth until she regained control and continued on. What road it was and where it lead to Sonia had no idea, but one thing she did know was the her vehicle was not meant to drive on it. Just trying to go straight was hard enough, let alone maintain enough speed to keep the chase going.

Following the road, though, she noticed they seemed to be going downhill into a valley. She'd started to wonder if that meant there was indeed a lake on the land, as per its name. She didn't have to wonder long when all of a sudden she rounded a blind corner and a final short straight ended with nothing but a short dock at the end of it.

"OH MY GOD!"

Sonia slammed on the breaks and turned hard left, skidding sideways into an open patch of dirt. The cloud kicked up behind her made the squad car not see the end of the road and by the time it did it was too late. The squad car slammed on its brakes but it didn't stop in time, causing its nose to drop off the dock and stick into the water and mud off the bottom of it. With its rear wheels in the air there was no way it was getting out.

_"Sonia, are you alright?"_

"..."

_"SONIA-GIRL!"_

"HUH! What? Uh, yeah! I'm good! I'm, like, getting out of here!"

_"Me too! I'll meet ya back on the main road!"_

Sonia didn't want to stay there for one more second than she had to. Slamming down into first gear she sped away from the scene and bac up the small road to the main road. A few seconds later she was pulling up to the tail lights on the 962CR Bunnie was driving.

"A'h can't bahlieve that worked so dang well! I got him to slide right into a pig pen! Empty, of course, but there was no way he was gettin out!"

_"I'm glad you're thrilled. For the love of Mobius Bunnie, we just caused two police cars to crash! Doesn't that bother you!"_

"Of course! But it was eithah them or us, Sonia. If it were any othah day I'dah done the right thang and given up. But there's too much on the line right now because if we fail-"

_"Please don't finish that sentence... I already know."_

"I'm sorry, Sonia. I didn't mean to-"

_"I know. Let's just get back to town. The sooner we finish this damn job, the better."_

"Good ideah."

_"I just hope nobody else has been having as much trouble as us."_

"Me too."

Having been pushed into the deep valley and far outside town they'd gotten outside the range of many of the other's communicators. They had no idea that they weren't the only one's having problems and that things were only getting worse.

* * *

**(WHITE)**

On another road Silver and Rotor were inbound with "Pandora" and "Delores." Both had been cars that the two of them had been looking forward to getting to all night. Now, however, only one of them still had the same feelings. Rotor had made the unfortunate choice of stealing a car that was, to be said gently, two sizes too small for his rotund frame.

_"Dammit it's tight in here."_

"That's what she said... or he said."

_"Heh, good one."_

"Thank you."

_"Still, I'll be glad when we get this thing delivered. If I'd known this car was going to be so small I would have left it to somebody else."_

"Nah, I think it suits you."

_"How so?"_

"Well, it's yellow paint matches your hat... it has exposed mechanics, which a mechanic like yourself probably enjoys... and it's a good reason for you to drop a few pounds."

_"Ah, shat ap,"_ Rotor joked.

"Make me."

_"Make you? Gladly. What if I said that the DeLorean you're driving suits you perfectly for one reason."_

"How? Other-worldly? Futuristic? Ahead-of-its-time?"

_"More like... nerdy."_

"It is not nerdy. It's cool."

_"Nerdy."_

"Cool."

_"**Nerdy**."_

"_Cool_."

"_**NERDY!**_"

"**COOL!**"

"_**NERDY-NERDY-NEEER-DYYY!**_"

The childish bickering between the two of them distracted them from the fact that they were fast approaching a trap. Unbeknownst to them they'd been spotted a while back and now a police road block lie in wait ahead of them.

"Well at least I fit in my car! You look like you're trying to stuff your ass into a kayak!"

_"Once again, you're right. You do fit in your nerdy car quite nicely."_

"Is that the best retort you can come up with?"

_"No, how about... COPS!"_

"Oh yeah, sure! Whatever you-**WOAH!**"

Silver had to slam on his brakes to avoid rear-ending Rotor who had also come to a sudden stop. Ahead of them two squad cars had formed a V-shaped barrier on the two-lane road in such a way that going around them would land them in a ditch. Naturally they couldn't ram the barrier either because the cars had to be delivered in good shape. With lights flashing a searchlights blinding them they were in big trouble. To try and protect themselves as much as possible they ducked down to keep their faces hidden.

**"****Turn of the ignition and step out of the vehicles with your where we can see them! NOW!"**

"Rotor, what the hell are we gonna do?"

_"Wasn't there a road a little ways back?"_

"I don't know!"

**"GET OUT OF THE VEHICLES NOW!"**

_"What do you mean you don't know?"_

"I was talking to you! Remember?"

**"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!"**

_"Silver, please! Do you remember seeing a road or not?"_

"Uh... uh..."

_"SILVER!"_

"YEAH! I remember now! There was a road!"

_"That's all I needed to hear."_

Silver could hear the engine idle of Rotor's Panoz change as he'd shifted into reverse and blew past him in backwards. Silver followed suit and also got going in reverse. Rotor's small sports car was able to do a reverse 180 easily, but Silver's much slower and bulkier car needed to do a three point turn to get fully around, allowing the squad car to get a lot closer to him than he was comfortable with. The only thing he was more uncomfortable with was the fact that he lied to Rotor. He had no idea if there really was a road or not.

About a minute later they got their answer. There was in fact not one but two different roads that jutted out at right angles to the current path they were on. Trouble was they had no idea which one was the right one to chose since they didn't know which road lead to an escape or dead end, or if there was any escape at all. However, it looked as though the left road would be easier to escape on so Rotor made a snap decision.

"Silver, go left, alright?"

_"Going right, got it!"_

Through the adrenaline and panic Silver completely misheard the instruction and before Rotor could correct him Silver took a hard right onto a smaller, one-lane road that looked as though it didn't lead to anywhere promising.

"I said to go left, Silver!"

_"I heard you say right!"_

"I said go left, _alright!_"

_"Oh..."_

"Can you get away?"

_"I... I hope so."_

That wasn't the answer Rotor wanted to hear, but there was nothing he could do. Rotor slammed the gas to the floor to try distance himself as much as possible from his pursuer. The little yellow roadster's eight cylinder engine jerked the vehicle's nose upward as it distanced itself from the squad car behind it. Up-shifting to the next gear the rear wheels chirped as the engine's power went through the wheels to the ground. Behind him the police car was accelerating to catch up but it was no where near as nimble or quick as "Pandora" was.

Going through a light turn the tires screeched as they lost traction, even pitching the rear end out slightly. Straightening out Rotor put a bit more distance between him and his pursuer. For a moment he actually let himself feel a bit of relief in that he could actually escape. Coming up over the top of the next hill, however, that feeling changed. Up ahead the road literally just ended. All there was beyond it was a small stream that ran through the land.

"Oh man... this is _not_ good... I hope that water isn't deep!"

Once again there was nothing he could do. Reaching the end of the road Rotor drove into the water. Luckily in this part of the water is was only about two or three inches deep. Downshifting into a lower gear and turning in the direction of the water flow Rotor was thankful he'd run into the stream now as it was surely much deeper earlier right after the rain. Even so, the roadster he drove was not meant to do what he was doing. Fighting through the water and soggy grounds was not easy and the car was threatening to give out.

The only good news was that, for whatever reason, the squad car did not pursue. Maybe the driver was inexperienced, or maybe the water got deeper up ahead. Rotor prayed it was the former or the two.

"Silver, how's things going?... Silver?... Silver, do you read me?...SILVER!... Damn!"

Continuing on through the water a bridge was up ahead, which meant there could possibly be an access point to get out of the water and back up to the road. Sure enough such a point did come into sight as he got closer to the span. But when he went to turn to get to it he found that his steering wheel barely had effect. The rear wheels didn't do much either. Looking down the problem was apparent. The water was deeper and he was currently afloat, but worst of all he was slowly taking on water. The water flow was also picking up speed, meaning his escape path would soon pass by.

Trying one last time to get out of the water Rotor mashed the gas and turned towards the exit point but could do nothing. To top it all off, the engine finally stalled out from the water coming in. Realizing that, yet again, there was nothing he could do Rotor got ready to ditch the car and swim for shore.

"Silver, I'm really screwed. I got away in a stream but now I'm swamped. I'm gonna ditch the car and swim for shore."

_"Don't bother."_

Rotor suddenly found himself surrounded by bright blue light and felt himself lifting up into the air. Rising up above the bridge he could see Silver standing there next to his DeLorean, focusing all of his PK powers into saving him.

_"Hop... out..."_ Silver grunted as he brought the car right over the bridge.

Rotor took the five foot jump from the car to the road surface and then Silver used his mind to spin the car around in the air at high speed, forcing all of the water in the car to spray out and all over the place. Setting the car back down it was more or less dry, and hopefully, drivable.

"How many... more... times... am I gonna.. hafta save you?" Silver panted.

"Man, that was awesome! You could open up your own car wash!"

"Heh... Yeah, and you could be my towel boy."

"Whatever. Hey, wait a sec. How'd you get away so easily?"

"Easy. We passed a series of old telephone poles that were on the verge of falling on their own. I got ahead a little and gave them a little help. And no, I didn't crush the cop car. But there was no way he was getting around twelve fallen poles really fast."

"I envy you."

"Oh, that's just the beginning. To make sure they don't back track us I formed a huge sink hole in the road a little ways back."

"Geez! Plan on taking out this bridge too?"

"Say when."

"Forget it. Let's just get out of here. We're close to Route 101 so we can get back to town."

"Lead the way."

"You got it... Hey Silver."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks... again."

The hedgehog gave his teammate the thumbs up as he pulled his car's gull wing door shut. After a crank or two Rotor's car also started and they were on their way.

So far the teams outside of town had had it lucky. This far out police activity was lower and there were a lot more ways to escape in addition to the fact that there were less obstacles to worry about too. However, the same could not be said for those who were reaching town where everything was more patrolled, congested, and harder to make an escape.

* * *

**(BLUE)**

The leaders of the operation were on the streets of Station Square in the industrial part of town. They'd decided to take this route as it was a bit of a shortcut from the location they'd just came from. However it was a risky move because this area was patrolled much more than the normal routes that they'd been taking all night. Under normal conditions this would have been fine, but given the fact that they were unaware of the actions taken by Robotnik and Snively they had no idea that they were being searched for at that moment. All they did know was the increasing amount of communicator chatter they stumbled upon was most concerning. However, to try and break the string of tension Sally brought up something she had on her mind.

_"You never did tell me how Scourge didn't see you."_

"Like I said, it's hard to say. I was hidden pretty good in the back, but still."

_"Well I couldn't see anything. What was he doing?"_

"Just looking inside the window... Come to think of it he did have his sunglasses on. I guess that's gonna limit anybody's vision in the night. And to be honest I think he might have been a bit drunk too."

_"Although nowhere near as bad as Fiona, huh?"_

"For real! I'd have given anything to have a video camera for that!"

_"You do. Tails said our communicators have one... remember?"_

"Aw, shit!"

_"Talk about a lost opportunity."_

"No no! Check out our six!"

The risk had not paid off. Trailing them was a lone under-cover unit, it's lights flashing as a signal to pull over. Of course the two of them didn't even come close to thinking of doing so.

"Where did he come from?"

_"We knew this was a risk, Sonic. The under-cover units like to patrol here because they fit in better with the industrial surroundings."_

"Dammit."

"**Pull over**," the unit's driver said over its megaphone system.

"Make me."

_"Sonic, we gotta do something."_

"I know. I'm working on it."

They kept a short distance between them and following unit but didn't break into a full-on escape. Of all the areas of town to get into a chase this was probably the worst as there were numerous dead ends and confusing loops one could stuck in with no escape. They had to wait for the right opportunity to come along. However fate wasn't going to wait as long as a second undercover unit had joined the slow chase, causing Sally to grow ever more concerned.

"_Sonic..._"

"Yeah?"

_"Any year now!"_

"Stealin' my lines again?"

_"WILL YOU JUST FIND US A WAY TO ESCAPE!"_

Sonic snickered slightly at Sally's abrupt change in attitude, but he also admitted that she was right. Rounding a corner there was a cargo tuck pulling out from an automated perimeter fence. Beyond that fence there was a series of warehouses and passageways that would make for a perfect escape.

"You want to get away? _Ooooookay_."

Up ahead the cargo truck had cleared the fence and the automated door began to shut. Sonic slammed the gas of his black hot rod to the floor and darted for the opening. Sally was a bit caught off guard but she figured it out quickly and followed him through and into the compound. Naturally the squad car began to give chase, but both of them had expected this.

As predicted by Sonic the maze of roads and structures made for a perfect way to lose the tails and try to get away. The only problem was that there wasn't an easy way out as Sonic had hoped. Every way in or out was via an automated gate or door, all of which were controlled by a computer.

For the moment the cops had been lost in the series of turns and buildings but the break was sure to not last long. Pulling into the nearest alleyway or behind a large obstacle the team mates took a second to catch their breath and figure out what they had to do to get out of this mess. Sonic had a plan, but Sally was a bit too worked up to be thinking quite so clear yet.

_"Would you remind me just what we're doing in here?"_

"Escaping."

_"How! You just lead us into a compound with no exits!"_

"True."

_"So then what's your plan for getting us out of here!"_

"That's not my call."

_"Well I certainly don't have any ideas!"_

"Why don't you ask your little electronic girlfriend?"

NICOLE could surely access the mainframe that controlled the doors in the compound. More over she could continue to make them do whatever they wanted. With this in mind all they had to do now was figure out a way to make sure they didn't get into a pursuit and theoretically lock the police cars in the compound. Although he couldn't see her, Sonic knew Sally had just face-palmed.

"Well?"

_"Well what?"_

"Say it."

_"Say what?"_

"You know."

_"Do I?"_

"Yes, you do."

_"No, you don't."_

"Man, is it that hard to admit that for once I'm right?"

"No."

"Then say it."

_"It's not a matter of whether your right about using NICOLE, it's more about how you're going to make this work."_

"Easy. I'll go act as a decoy while you and NICOLE hack into this compound's mainframe. Once you get us an exit we'll get away and lock those others inside."

_"Have you lost your mind! That's crazy!"_

"Exactly. That's why it's going to work."

_"What kind of justification is that!"_

"Think about it, Sal. Hot pursuits occur all the time. By now it's easy to predict what's going to happen in a chase because everybody has tried the same things. But when you throw them a curve ball everything you think you know get's FUBAR and that's when you make your move. DAMN, AM I GOOD OR WHAT!"

_"Sonic..."_

"What?"

_"Be careful."_

"I will, Sal... Alright, I'm gonna make my presence known. You head for that small rear security gate we spotted. It's out of the way so you shouldn't be disturbed back there. I'll hold them off long enough for you get the gate open and ready to be locked down once we leave."

_"How will I know when you're going?"_

"Trust me. You'll know."

She knew he'd say that, but knew he was right. Somewhere in the compound she could hear Sonic's roadster ripping about through the thin roadways going through it while the units that had followed them in where on his tail. Knowing this was her chance Sally navigated her two-tone teal and black 789 to the decided escape route.

"NICOLE, access this compound's security system," Sally demanded, flipping open the super-computer's screen.

**"Accessing, Sally... Perimeter security system online."**

"Open this gate, then prepare to lock down the entire system."

**"Yes, Sally. It will take approximately one minute to do so."**

_"Uhh, Sal?..."_

"What?"

_"Mondo-problemo... four more units just came in through the front gate and they're all breathing down my neck!"_

"Can you hold them off for a minute?"

_"A minute! I don't think I can hold them off for ten seconds! We gotta go right now!"_

"We can't! NICOLE needs that much time to do what we need!"

_"That's too long!"_

"It's the best I can do!"

_"Dammit! I can't talk! I'm headed that way! That door better be open once I get there!"_

Sally swore loudly and pounded the center console. In front of her the gate lurched as the locks released. The door slowly began to open when Sally looked over her shoulder. Sonic had just rounded the corner, the team of squad cars close behind. Up ahead Sonic could see the gate was open but he could also see Sally was in the way.

_"Sal, move it! I'm coming!"_

"I can't! It's not all the way open yet!"

_"I can't stop, Sal!"_

"I can't move!"

_**"YOU HAVE TO!"**_

Tightening his grip on the steering wheel Sonic downshifted and floored the Deronda, easily pulling away from the following party. About fifty feet away from the exit he was doing nearly 120 MPH. The tail lights of Sally's car glared at him, as if to let him know they could be the last thing he ever sees. With the gate finally open enough to Sally to just sneak under she hit the gas and shot under it. Sonic was just twenty feet behind her when she'd began to move. He slammed on the brake and clutch to try to gain the mere milliseconds that could save both of them.

Mere inches separated the two cars as Sally swerved one way and Sonic screeched to the other. They were now both outside the compound with open road in front of them. They both started heading down it was their pursuers closed in on the exit.

"NICOLE, LOCK DOWN THE DOORS! NOW!"

**"Locking down."**

As they sped away from their near miss the door began to shut behind them. Not wanting to chance a crash the cops slammed on their brakes as the door got closed right in front of them locking them in.

Taking the closest road out of the industrial center Sonic and Sally made for the docks. They both couldn't believe that they'd just pulled off what they did, but they were more scared over just how close they'd nearly come to killing each other.

"Sal... you okay?"

_"Relatively speaking."_

"That was a bit too close, huh?"

_"Which part."_

"Either one, I guess."

_"I think you know the answer."_

"Yeah, I do... Let's just get back to the docks before there's any more trouble."

_"Sounds like a plan."_

No sooner had they heard this when a disheartening broadcast came over their communicators.

_"Somebody! Anybody, we need help!"_ Knuckles shouted over the communicator.

"Knux, what's wrong!" Sonic asked.

* * *

**(RED)**

"What do ya think! Me and Julie got the last thing we wanted to see following us!"

_"Sam Speed?"_

"No, but one of his deputies!"

_"Good, you're lucky!"_

"Lucky! How the hell are we lucky!"

_"Because those guys aren't as bad as you think. They're straight-line performers. All you have to do is avoid going straight for too long. Find the most twisty-turny roads you can and you'll be good!"_

"Are you sure?"

_"I've outrun these guys before. I know how they roll. Trust me."_

"Alright, thanks Sonic. We'll see what we can do."

_"Be careful, Knux."_

"Gotcha... Julie, can you hear me?"

_"Yes, but I can hear the sirens of the police catching up to us even more!"_

"I know, I know! Look, Sonic said that these guys are better in a straight line than in a turn! All we gotta do is find some turns and we might be able to lose this guy!"

_"Knux, we're one Route 280! There's not a lot of turns on either super-highway, but this one has even less than the other!"_

"...Really?..."

_"Yes!"_

"Oh... Well then, let's take this to the streets!"

They'd just come upon an exit that woul lead them to the city streets. They made a rapid turn to the right and down the ramp. The unit continued on down the highway having missed the exit.

Coming down the ramp Knuckles paid more attention to that than the road ahead of him. "Is that all that punk had! What a wimp! Can't handle one little turn?"

**_"KNUCKLES, LOOK OUT!"_**

They had reached the bottom of the ramp just as another cop car had arrived perpendicular to their direction of travel. Little did they know that the high speed unit had called for backup. With little time to react Knuckles slammed the brakes and clutch of his sixteen-cylinder powered behemoth to the floor and hoped he could somehow not hit the other vehicle. They both swerved away, providing the mere foot needed to prevent a crash, and came to skidding halts.

Trailing about halfway up the exit ramp Julie-Su had a perfect vantage point of everything that happened. Although it was scary this was going to work in their favor since the one unit was still on the highway and the other had just spun out. Pulling a hard-left power-slide of the ramp she passed Knuckles and made for the center of town.

"Knuckles, follow me!"

Behind her she could see the four pop-up headlights of Knuckles' car being to follower after of. He was, however, followed by the backup high speed unit. They had to start working on losing that unit or they were surely going to run into the whole S-Team shortly.

"We need to come up with something fast to lose this guy!"

_"No, ya think! I had a nice plan laid out until you decided to take charge without asking!"_

"Sue me! Doesn't change that we gotta get way!"

_"Tell me something I don't know!"_

Julie was getting fed up with the other echidna's attitude but this wasn't the time to get into a fight. Knowing that they needed some sort of set of twists and turns to try and scare the following unit Julie ran through her limited knowledge of the city. There was only one such place she could think of.

"Lombard Street!"

_"What?"_

"Lombard Street! We can lose them there!"

_"I don't have a damn clue what or where that street is!"_

"That doesn't matter! We just have to get there and we're home free!"

_"That's fine and dandy, but do you know how to get there?"_

"I think."

_"You **think?**"_

**"WELL WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!"**

**_"THAT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING US INTO!"_**

**"I KNOW WHAT WE'RE GETTING INTO! NOW SHUT UP AND DRIVE BECAUSE THEY'RE CATCHING UP!"**

The truth was Julie didn't know how to get to the famed Lombard Street by address or street names. She only knew it by landmarks it was associated with. The only defining hint she had to go on was from a photograph she'd once seen taken from the top of the road. The photo showed that it was in the bottom edge uptown part of the city. Right now they were on the upper edge of the urban downtown section. They didn't have too far to go, but their opponents weren't going to let them get away easily.

Turning hard onto an arterial boulevard their combined twenty-four cylinders of both engines thrust their cars uptown-bound. The noise emitted from Julie's car was stunning enough, but the roar from Knuckles' was actually drowning out hers. This, unfortunately, was starting to work against them as two additional normal S.S.P.D. units joined the chase.

_"Julieeee."_

"I know! Just hang on! We're getting close!"

_"So are our friends in the black and whites!"_

Ditching the boulevard Julie led them through a maze of narrower avenues until they started into a residential sector. Julie recognized the architecture of the area and knew that what they were looking for had to be close by. Up ahead yet another solo unit forced them to take a left turn down an even narrower two lane road with civilian vehicles parked on either side of it.

_"What the hell is that!"_ Knuckles shouted.

"That's what I've been looking for!"

Julie felt a surge of relief. Up ahead was a most unusual road. It was a one-lane, one-way road that snaked it's way down a sloped block of the city in a zig-zag pattern that repeated eight times. With the complexity of such a road they could surely lose any pursuers, specifically the S-Team unit. This was especially true because they were at the bottom of the road and were going to go up it against the direction it was normally traveled.

Her relief, however, was short lived. A few blocks directly ahead of them a police roadblock was formed before her eyes. Two opposite-facing police cars blocked the intersection they had to get across. Even worse was the fact that the next block was so congested with parked cars that if they went down it there was no turning around.

"We gotta abort! This isn't going to work!"

_"Why?"_

"There's a road block at the bottom of where we need to go!"

_"No prob."_

"The _hell_ it isn't!"

_"I can take car of this!"_

**"HOW!"**

**_"JUST LET ME BY!"_**

Julie saw his car lurch upward as he mashed the gas. Swerving to the side Knuckles' red Cizeta blasted by with a deafening sound and took the lead. They'd just entered the block before the road block.

"STAY RIGHT BEHIND ME AND GET READY TO REACT! FAST!" Knuckles ordered.

Knuckles didn't wait for Julie's answer as he continued to accelerate. Perhaps it was his speed, or maybe it was the sound the car was making, or even it was the sight of four headlights quickly approaching that made the two roadblock cars suddenly reverse out of the way. All that separated them from their escape route was the T-intersection and the remaining bit of the block they were on. However they were going far too fast to even think about going up the twisty road.

"HIT THE BRAKES!" Knuckles shouted quickly.

Knuckles slammed the brakes and clutch to the floor so quickly that it half caught Julie off guard. Thankfully she'd left just enough room that she could also slam the brakes as well. The two cars wheels screamed and smoked as they skidded through the intersection and right up to the bottom of Lombard street.

To say the least navigating the one-lane road was not easy. It was uphill since they were going the wrong way, it was just wide enough for their cars to fit, and the road was was of bricks rather than asphalt. It was hard enough for Julie's to drive her white W8 up the path, but Knuckles was having even greater difficulty with his giant, over-powered W16. If he lost control then they couldn't go forward and would get caught by the police cars now starting up the road.

Although it took about thirty seconds to get up the curved incline it felt like thirty minutes to them. As they reached the apex, however, Julie spotted something in her rear view mirror. The high-speed unit had opted not to attempt going up the path as it would have been too hard for the specialized vehicle.

_"Knuckles, we ditched the S-Team guy!"_

"Great! But we still got a few more on our tails! Let's show em what we can do!"

Since they were on a hill the road across from Lombard Street sloped downward. The pair of vehicles started down it and gained speed rapidly, reaching nearly 150 MPH as they put an increasing distance between them and Lombard Street. Just as the other police cars had reached the top of the hill they'd made a turn onto another boulevard and soon after were met with an on ramp for Route 101. Charging up the ramp they got onto the superhighway and made for the direction of the docks.

Luckily they'd gotten away so quickly that all of the attention they'd drawn on the streets didn't have time to get back to patrol the superhighways. Not wanting to tempt fate the echidna's mashed their accelerators to the floor and left the area.

_"So who gets credit for this little stunt?"_ Knuckles asked.

"It was my idea, Knux."

_"Yeah, but I originally said we gotta hit the streets."_

"And I picked which street we had to take."

_"I think I played more in the part of making the plan that you did!"_

"But I played more of an important part!"

**_"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ADMIT FOR ONCE I CAME UP WITH A GOOD PLAN!"_**

**"WHY CAN"T YOU ADMIT THAT I FINISHED WHAT YOU STARTED YET AGAIN!"**

As per their usual demeanor the pair continued their argument as they raced along. Their tempers may have been raging, but they could have no idea how foul a mood one particular detective had across town.

* * *

**(PURPLE)**

Espio was fuming as he sped along Route 101 near the shipping yards. After losing Manic and Antoine he'd spent the past forty minutes speeding back and forth to various reports of possible or confirmed stolen vehicles. Though some of these had been part of the ongoing operation, most weren't. That didn't matter, though, because every time Espio had either been too far away to respond or didn't make it to the scene of chase in time.

_"I don't believe this... I do **NOT** believe this! How could I have missed this many opportunities!. But there is no denying it... I have failed again. I will have to punish myself thoroughly for tonight... I guess I'll go back to Manic's and see if there's anything else that I can learn. At least I know where everything is there."_

With a scowl on his face Espio continued on his way down the highway. He'd only been going for about a minute or two when two separate headlights came around a bend in the highway. Glancing over he could clearly make out two motorcycles, one white and one red. He couldn't see who the rider was on the red bike but he almost let himself fall off of his bike when he saw a white bat riding on the white one. Looking over his shoulder as the bikes shot by he knew beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Rouge.

_"Damn, I forgot about her! And why is she on a motorcycle! What about that Cadillac! Whatever the case, she's just as much a suspect and I gotta stop her!"_

By chance there was a break in the highway median meant for emergency vehicles to use if they suddenly had to change direction. Espio clamped on the brakes and took to turn frighteningly hard, the back wheel pitching out a little and causing him to put a foot down on the ground to keep upright. Now going in the same direction Espio opened the throttle and doubled-back after his suspects.

"Let's see what you've been up to, Rouge."

Rouge and Shadow weren't in as heightened alert as the others were. The motorcycles they were on had been stolen from a removed part of the suburbs and they'd been cruising in on Route 101 ever since. They did find it odd, however, that they weren't hearing a lot of chatter coming through the communicators. They'd also heard a lot of sirens as they'd been coming in but none of them ever bothered them.

Reaching the exit they wanted the pair left the highway, unaware that Espio was racing up behind them. On the streets they were soon met by a red light. There was nobody else around and they could have easily gone through it but they both wanted to have a quick word. Pulling to the side of the road they dropped their kickstands and dismounted.

"Is it just me or does it seem like things are..."

Shadow finished her sentence. "A little off? Yes, they do. Things are too quiet, or too noisy, depending on which way you look at it."

"I know. Virtually no communications from the others and a sudden surge of police activity. It makes you wonder if somehow they're onto us."

"Possibly, but then again the nightlife in this city in anything but peaceful. For all we know there could be some city-wide crime operation going on. One _other_ than the one we're on."

"That's true. At any rate we should get these bikes to the drop off. With things going the way they are who knows what's going to happen next."

"Or who's going to show up. _Look_."

Shadow had spotted a familiar black and green motorcycle coming off the same exit ramp and heading towards them. Since the particular street they were on was illuminated only by the traffic light and a flickering streetlight it was difficult to see who was on it. More to their disadvantage was the fact that Espio had his riding helmet on, concealing his identity. Further more he rode with his tail off to the left, exactly like Avarice did. They had no idea that it was a detective, rather than a friend, pulling up to them.

"Avy, what the _hell_ are you doing here? And what's up with the helmet?"

"It's the law to wear one... _Rouge,_" Espio answered, revealing his identity.

"E...Espio?" Rouge said nervously.

"_Detective_ Espio, thank you very much."

"How can we help you, detective?" Shadow asked calmly.

"You can start by telling me what you're doing with those motorcycles there."

"Riding them," Shadow answered, almost smugly.

"Don't get smart with me. I asked you a question. What are you doing with those motorcycles? And now that I'm thinking of it, where did they come from?"

"We're looking after them for a friend," Rouge answered quickly.

"Looking after them for a friend. Hmm... Didn't you just tell me about an hour ago you were returning a classic Cadillac to its owner as a favor?"

"Yes, and I did."

"I see. And now you're riding around on motorcycles that you say you're watching for a friend... Seems you're doing a lot of favors concerning vehicles, Rouge. Care to explain?"

"There's nothing to explain. I was asked a while back to watch over these bikes for a friend and I am. What's wrong with that?"

"I'll ask the questions, not you."

"We're doing what Rouge said we were doing, detective. There's nothing more to it than that," Shadow answered, a bit nastily.

"Is that so? Well, how about we call in the plates of these vehicles and find out?"

"Why don't you call in the plates on yours," Rouge snapped. "I know who's that is! How do you justify stealing my friend's bike?"

"Oh, it's very justifiable. I believe she may have picked my keys off of me after you left so I commandeered her's to perform my duties."

"I don't believe that. Avy would never let somebody just take her bike without good reason."

"Perhaps under _normal_ conditions."

"... What did you do to her?," Rouge demanded, letting her growing anger show.

"Nothing serious. Just gave her some sedatives to quiet her down for a while. You see Rouge, your friend attempted to seduce me after you left and it's my guess she did so to keep me away from you. I must say, however, that she is very easily fooled. One or two wise plays on my part and I turned he plan right around on her and give myself the advantage. And since she'd been nice enough to shed most of her apparel as part of her act I was able to search her belongings quite easily."

"And you blame us of wrong doings!" Rouge snarled. "I would have thought somebody like you would have had more class."

"Nobody ever said that being an officer of the law was a pretty job. Sometimes even I must do things I may not be so comfortable with in order to do my detective work. And speaking of which... I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the motorcycles. _Now_."

Out of the corner or her eye Rouge saw Shadow nod slightly, a signal to cooperate. As Shadow stepped back one of the straps for his gun holsters slipped, exposing one of his pistols. As fast as he could without looking too suspicious he tucked the gun back inside his jacket.

"GET YOU HAND OUT OF YOUR JACKET!" Espio barked, having seen his hand go inside the jacket.

"I was just getting a cigarette," Shadow answered coolly, showing his cigarette case and lighter.

"Since when have you smoked?" Espio asked, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"What difference does it make? The last I checked it's legal."

"You're right, it is. But I'm going to ask you to refrain from doing so. Under the circumstances I want to limit the distractions that could occur. Is that clear?"

"Of course," Shadow answered, a hint of smugness in the statement.

Shadow and Rouge stepped aside as Espio had instructed. That's when the detective did something that neither of them had been expecting.

"Both of you turn around and place your hands behind your backs."

Pulling two sets of handcuffs out from a pocket in his riding suit Espio proceeded to cuff the both of them. He did so with their backs to one another, the chains of the cuffs crossed so they could not separate. Espio then proceeded to check over the two motorcycles for signs of tampering.

"This is not good," Rouge barely whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"I must admit this hasn't gone as I thought it would. "

"He thinks is that were up to something, that's for sure. He has no idea what we could be doing, though."

"Maybe so, but our cover is already blown. This is going to call for drastic measures."

"How drastic?"

"Drastic."

"As in we might have to break a few of the rules Sonic set down?"

"Yes."

Rouge swallowed a little, having feared that at some point in the night this might happen. "What do you have in mind?"

"Can you pick these cuffs?"

"Do I really have to answer that?"

"Good. Do you have anything to do it with?"

"Not on me."

"Damn... Alright, I'll take care of it."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just leave it to me."

"What are you discussing over there?" Espio asked, having overheard them.

"Nothing you'd find interesting," Shadow answered.

"Is that so? Well, that's just fine because what I'm seeing over here is that these motorcycles have been tampered with. That means either you stolen them or this friend of your did. Either way you're coming with me to the S.S.P.D. H.Q to answer some questions."

Espio went to his bike and called in for back up from the S.S.P.D. Rouge nudged Shadow slightly, a way of silently asking what he was waiting for. Shadow nodded ever slightly, his quills nudging Rouge since they were so close and thus answering her. Espio hadn't seen this and, having finished the call, came back over to them.

"Backup will be here shortly, you two. I suggest that if you want to make life easy you will cooperate and do as I say from now on."

"Question... What if we wanted to make life difficult?" Shadow asked.

"I doubt that you could given your current position" the detective stated confidently.

"I admit detective that you've handled this situation well. But there's one little thing you forgot about," Shadow said, cupping his hands behind his back under Rouge's.

"What? The reading of your Miranda Rights?"

"No... teleportation."

Since Shadow was so in tune with chaos energy just having the chaos emerald in his pocket was enough for himself to transfer his being anywhere he wanted. In a quick flash of purple Shadow vanished right before Espio's eyes, his handcuffs falling uselessly to the ground. Blinded by the light Espio had to wince away for a second, but through his eyelids he sensed another flash right behind him. He opened his eyes just in time to see Shadow coming at him in a spinning kick.

"UNGH!" Espio grunted as Shadow's kick rammed into his upper back and knocked him to the ground.

Espio rolled onto his back to try and counter but Shadow made a diving tackle onto him. As the two Mobians quarreled on the ground Shadow tried to find the handcuff keys while fighting at the same time. In the middle of the fight Shadow finally found a small set of keys in one of Espio's pockets. Just as Shadow had reached in and grabbed the keys Espio kicked the hedgehog off of him. Shadow rolled back and up onto his feet, but Espio delivered an overhead somersault kick to Shadow, throwing off his balance. The chameleon tripped his opponent to the ground with a sweeping kick, then grabbed a fistful of quills and forcefully pulled Shadow's head back. Espio threw his other arm around Shadow's throat, trying cutting off his air supply.

The both of them were suddenly separated when Rouge, her hands still bound behind her back, came swooping in and body slammed them both. The trio were spread about the asphalt, each out of the fight momentarily from the hard hit. Espio had taken the brunt of the impact and was lying the furthest away, his head spinning from having hit the pavement with his forehead.

"Rouge?" Shadow asked, leaning up.

"I'm fine" she answered, trying to get to her feet. "Did you get the-"

"LOOK OUT!"

Espio had recovered quickly and was attempting to deliver a flying kick to her. Shadow blasted his hover shoes to thrust him forward and intercept the attack. As he went by Rouge he tossed the keys to her. A second later he and Espio collided. Shadow stumbled backward to the sidewalk, but he managed to pull Espio along with him.

"Rouge, get out of here!" Shadow screamed as he tried to hold Espio back.

"What about you!" she yelled back, fighting to get her cuffs open with the keys.

"I'll catch up! **GO!**"

With a metallic click the cuffs slid off of Rouge's arms. She ran for her Suzuki motorcycle, the sight of which infuriated Espio. Not wanting yet another lead to get away Espio headbutted Shadow and broke free. With his training Espio covered the distance between him and Rouge in little time at all. Just as he was about to grab for Rouge and pull her off the bike Shadow had teleported directly above Espio and dropped right on top of him, allowing Rouge to get "Suzy" started and she sped away from the two of them.

With it now impossible to catch Rouge on foot Espio shoved Shadow off of him. They both got to their feet with fire in their eyes and adrenaline in their veins. They stood almost toe to toe in fighting stance, waiting for one or the other to react.

"You're going to pay for all of this, Shadow."

"How so?"

"Assisting in the escape of a suspect? Assaulting an officer? Resisting arrest? Does any of this ring a bell!"

"I don't give a shit about any of that."

"Really? Then does going to jail mean anything to you?"

"No."

"That's one hell of an attitude you've got there, Shadow."

"I could say the same about you."

"Me? What did I do?"

Shadow's temple throbbed as his fists clenched and his quills stiffened in anger. "You tried to attack Rouge when she did nothing to deserve it."

"The law doesn't show sympathy to criminals. You and her are criminals and I will not let you get away with this. I will fight you to the death if I must to stop you."

"Hmph... have it your way, then."

In a blur of black and red Shadow spun into a tight, whirling ball and shot straight at Espio. The chameleon performed a back-flip jump, making Shadow shoot right under his target. This meant little to Shadow as he just continued on spinning right up into a vertical loop. At the apex of the loop Shadow caught a glimpse of Espio completing his jump and turning around, expecting to prepare for an attack from that direction. Coming down from the loop Shadow made right for the reptile. By the time he saw the attack coming Espio couldn't react. The hit sent him flying, but he recovered in mid air and landed on his feet. Shadow was quite surprised by Espio's quick recovery.

"Damn you!" Espio shouted angrily.

Since Shadow had now made the first move Espio was ready to fight. Espio jumped head-over-heels backwards towards Shadow, shouting out of adrenaline and anger at having been attacked. A few feet from Shadow Espio leapt with all his might and sailed up over the hedgehog. Not being impressed by the aerobatic display Shadow's hover-shoes kicked on and propelled him towards the chameleon, exactly as Espio had hoped he would. While tumbling in midair Espio kicked Shadow in the back with both feet as he passed, sending him to a painful fall to the pavement.

Espio landed gracefully on the ground but his instincts told him there was no time to rest. Sure enough Shadow was coming again, this time in a flying kick. Espio ducked from the attack and shot right back up, managing to deliver a back-spin kick to Shadow and make him stumble. Espio tried to to elbow-drop on the hedgehog, but Shadow dodged and ran for a nearby alley. As he ran Shadow actually shot off a chaos spear which blasted a section of the sidewalk out. He did so not in the hopes of hitting Espio but rather to cover his escape.

By the time Espio looked up from the blast Shadow had vanished. Far in the distance the sound of police sirens meant that backup was going to be there very shortly. Waiting, however, wasn't an option. Shadow had just attacked him and Espio wasn't going to let him get away with it. Unfortunately Espio didn't have any of his weapons of choice tucked away in his riding suit. However, he did have a pair of shukos, or hand claws, which were simply a set of metal barbs attached to band that strapped to one's hands. Espio put these weapons on and cautiously started to trek down the dark, dirty, disgusting alleyway.

Even with his keen sight, hearing, and training, it was next to impossible to see or hear anything that might tip off where Shadow was hiding. Several times it seemed as though a shadow moved or there was a sensation of movement nearby, but each time Espio found himself to be wrong.

In the middle of the alleyway there was a more open area between the two buildings. There wasn't much around in the opening, save for heaps of garbage, an abandoned Toyota pick-up truck, and what looked like a relatively new gas grill in the bed. Espio felt as though this was the perfect place for an ambush and decided to switch tactics.

"Shadow!... I know you're here, Shadow!... This has gone on long enough! You hear me, long enough! It's time to stop!..."

There were no sounds except to his own voice echoing in the alley. "Dammit Shadow, what's the point of all this! What is so damn important that you're willing to risk everything to protect! Nothing is worth that much! NOTHING!..." There was still no answer and the sirens were getting close.

"Do you hear those sirens, Shadow? They're coming hear for you! They will not be as forgiving as I'm willing to be! Unless you want things to end in the worst possible way, just come out now!... DO YOU HEAR ME! GIVE THIS UP NOW!"

"...No..."

Even with all his training Espio flinched at hearing Shadow's voice, though he still couldn't see him. The next sound, however, made Espio's heart stop. The metallic clicks of what sounded like a firearm being readied to fire. This surely meant that he was surely in the sights of said weapons. He thought about running.

"Don't even think about moving," Shadow said, his voice clearly coming from behind Espio. "Hands up. Now."

"... So this is it..." he responded, raising his hands. "You've already threatened and assaulted and officer of the law... now you're going to kill one..."

"Shut up... Get over by that wall to the right of you."

Espio did as he was told and walked right up against the wall opposite the pick up with the grill. He could hear Shadow's footsteps coming up behind him though he still couldn't see the hedgehog. By a rough estimate, Espio predicted that Shadow was standing in the middle of the alleyway.

"I will warn you Shadow that death doesn't frighten me. You'll have achieved nothing in murdering me."

"Hmph."

Shadow started to walk away and Espio managed to sneak a view. He caught a glimpse of Shadow going over to the truck and reaching for the grill. He once again through about running, but he didn't know if the gun was still pointed at him. Suddenly there was a squeaking sound, following by hissing. Espio realized Shadow had just opened the gas valve of the propane container.

"Why did you do that?" Espio asked.

Shadow didn't answer as he came up behind Espio quickly, his left arm slinging around the reptile's torso and holding tight. It would have been so easy to stab the hedgehog's arms with his shukos, but he knew he'd only get shot sooner. The only thing that perplexed Espio was that he could see a purple glow coming from Shadow's left hand.

"What the?... Is that s ch-"

"Don't struggle. It'll only make this more difficult."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just hang on."

Espio felt Shadow lifting his right hand. Espio waited for it to be jammed into his back and his guts splatted upon the wall in front of him. That moment never came. Instead, Shadow made a throwing motion with his right hand.

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

For a moment the alley lit up a bright yellow from the spears. The spears struck the jet of gas streaming from the propane tank of the grill, instantly igniting them. A load roar and flash of bright orange now filled the driveway. Knowing the tank would blow in just seconds Espio tried to sprint but Shadow held on and they both fell to the ground.

"YOU BASTARD, LET ME GO!"

"SHUT UP! CHAOS CONTROL!"

At that moment the tank burst and everything went bright. Then, everything went dark again and Espio felt himself fall hard onto wooden floor. He could feel Shadow jump up off of him. Looking up they were now in an abandoned building on the other side of the block. Espio looked up to see the silhouette of Shadow against a backdrop of flames from the recently exploded propane tank.

"Are you hurt?" Shadow asked.

"No."

Shadow raised his hand with the chaos emerald again, but Espio wasn't going to let him leave. "WAIT!"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you do that? You could have shot me whenever you wanted to."

"I was never going to shoot you."

"I heard you cock your firearm!"

"You heard me un-cock it. Once I figured out that I had the upper hand you were no longer a threat and I wouldn't have to defend myself."

"I don't believe you!"

"That's you're problem, not mine."

"Oh yeah! Then why did you go through that trouble with the propane tank!"

"To give me enough time to save us."

"Save _us!_ Why bother! You could have just left me to burn because I'm your enemy!"

"...You're not the enemy... And neither am I. Nor Rouge. But I _am_ trying to stop one..."

That was not the answer Espio expected. He was taken back by it and paused, unable to ask if the enemy was somehow Manic or who he believed to be Antoine. This pause gave Shadow enough time to teleport away again. Getting to his feet Espio looked out through a window to see Shadow get onto the red Ducati he'd been riding. He saw the hedgehog talk into some sort of device on his wrist.

"Rouge, are you there?"

"Yes! What happened! I saw that all the way from... well, you know where."

"Just a little distraction. I'll be there shortly."

* * *

Once again Espio watched as his only lead sped away. Trying to catch him again was impossible since the windows had bars on them and he'd never reach his own transportation in time. Running down the steps of the old building Espio made it to a boarded up window on the first floor and used his shukos to tear it down. Just as he got out of the building the backup arrived to the scene.

"You there! Show me your hands!" Shouted an officer from one of the patrol cars.

"Detective Espio, Team Chaotix" he answered, flashing his badge. "I'll call in for help, you just make sure the area is secure."

Espio radioed in for emergency services to come to the scene to put out the fires. He also filled in the other police officers with a made up story about that he'd arrived on scene to investigate a bomb scare and that the propane tank in the alley had been rigged. He made up the lie for the simple fact that he didn't want the entire police force on this case.

It had become clear to Espio that things weren't adding up. Just the other night they think they've all but solved the grand theft auto case and, in turn, three dangerous criminals were removed from the world forever. Yet now, just one night later, there's was am uncommon amount of activity on the roads at night, reports of stolen cars flooded the radio waves, and there was suspicious activity from those that Espio knew quite well. Clearly something was still up but he couldn't piece it together.

There was one person Espio was now willing to go to for a second opinion. Mounting his "borrowed" motorcycle Espio checked the time on his iPhone. It was nearly five in the morning.

"I think he usually gets up at six. It's about an hour away from here... I can make it. I have to make it... I just need the address."

Using the same program he'd used earlier Espio got the location of his next destination:

_**Destination: Detective Vector's Residence  
**_

_**Destination Address: ****777**__** Greenback Lane; Goldmine Estates Community  
**_

_**Destination Phone Number: 237-321-1995**_

Moments late Espio was back on Route 101, roaring towards the suburbs. By the time he'd get to where he was going he'd hoped that he could make more sense of everything he'd learned in the past hour. To make any sort of case he was going to have to present some solid facts to prove he was onto something. Of course there was the fact that he had the list from Manic's house, but that was only enough to make Manic a suspect. Everything else was going to be based on thinner and thinner evidence.

He only hoped that his boss wouldn't let stubbornness or bad feelings cloud his mind. After all, Espio and Vector hadn't been on the best of terms recently and today's lack of presense to help the team certainly wasn't going to help. Regardless, Espio knew that he had a lead. He just hoped that he wasn't too late and that someway, somehow, he was going to get to the bottom of what was going on.

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

**Just a few precautionary acknowledgments I'd like to make:**

**- iPhone **name and device property of** _Apple Inc_.**

- **Lombard Street** name and architectural design is property of the City of San Francisco.


	27. Cover Blown

**Author's Notes:**

Another very long overdue update. All I can say is that's the life of a college student. At least now I'm done with classes until September since I'm going out on internship for the next six months and that should give me more time for updates. Naturally the current economy isn't making my job search any easier, but then again who isn't having a hard time finding a job? LOLZ.

Anyway, this chapter I've been looking forward to writing for a very LONG TIME. Although it's different from what I had originally planned it to be, it was still a blast to write and I really think you're going to like reading it.

I want to point out now that I've made a few minor alterations to earlier chapters. Most of them you don't have to worry about now, they were just to help set things up the way they are now. However, it should be noted that Vector's squad car is now a **BMW M5**. I can't reveal why I did this (for the sake of spoilers) but I had to do so for the purposes of this chapter as well as those to come. You'll see why later on.

Additionally, I'd like to announce that this chapter marks the end of the Autokrieg chapters. You'll also noticed there's no car list at the beginning of this chapter. That's because this chapter isn't going to focus on wide-scale operations. Instead it's more focused, as you will see.

One more thing. Over the past few months I've received quite a number of messages asking about when a certain event or element was going to appear. I will say that this chapter will answer, or at least hint at, what you wanted to know. And for those who have seen the movie, you'll probably catch onto what's going to happen next. ;)

And as always, all criticisms/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 27** - **The Autokrieg (Part 8) - Cover Blown  
**

Almost an hour away from the city in the peaceful suburbs the sun was casting its rays upon the house belonging to the leader of the Chaotix. As per the normal routine breakfast was ready at 6:00 A.M. and the members of the house were up and about, preparing for the day. With the usual announcement the family gathered at the breakfast table. Today, however, they were joined by an additional member.

"Everything looks scrumptious, Vanilla," Ray commented to his hostess.

"Thank you, darling."

"But the food doesn't look as nice as the flowers you gave me," Cream mentioned, indicating the vase in the center of the table holding the five dozen roses that Ray had gotten last night from Manic and Antoine.

"Yeah, well..." the squirrel started, blushing. "You might just say I... _happened_ upon them."

"Your so cute" the rabbit said, snuggling against Ray and making him blush harder.

"Ohh, isn't that sweet?" Vanilla asked Vector.

"Quite so. Just remember, Ray. That_ is_ my daughter," Vector stated, intended to be friendly sarcastic.

"Y-y-y-y-yes! I, I know! S-sorry!" Ray stuttered.

"Oh, daddy! Don't be such a pain! I see you and mom snuggle all the time!"

"For the record I didn't mean that seriously. But while we're on the topic, how did you know you mother and I snuggle?"

"Because I have eyes and ears and they work _really _well."

"Hmph... I can't dispute that, now can I Vanilla?"

"No, our daughter is very bright for her age."

"Aww stop it..." Cream stated, blushing a bit.

"It's true, you know" Ray complimented.

That statement earned Ray a light peck on his cheek. Despite his yellow fur the bright red blush on his cheeks was plainly visible. The parents at the table could only smile.

"Ahh, young love. It's always such a beautiful thing."

"L-l-l-l-l-l-l-ove!"

"DAD!"

"I'm no fool, youngin's. I know love when I see it. And you two definitely show the first signs of love."

"That's my husband, for you. Detective by day, Love Doctor by night."

"That's me."

A friendly laugh was shared and the family began to eat. They only had about a minute to enjoy their food, however, before the sounds of a fast approaching motorcycle broke the morning peace.

"Who on Mobius could be in such a hurry this early in the morning?" Vanilla asked.

"I don't know, but if I see who it is I'm gonna give them a stern talking to," Vector said, getting to his feet and moving to the front door.

Moments later Vector spotted a green and black motorcycle come screeching around a corner up the street. The crocodile jogged up to the end of the driveway to get a better view of who it was but found the bike was now coming right at him. Vector clenched his fists, ready to fight at the bike swooped into the driveway and skidded to a stop.

"You got a problem, pal!"

"Vector, it's me!" Espio stated, pulling his helmet off to reveal his identity.

"What?... Espio, since when did you know how to ride a motorcycle? Better yet, since when did you own one?"

"This one isn't mine, but it doesn't matter! I've got some very-"

"_Excuse me?_ That bike isn't yours?"

"No, but-"

"Then who's is it?"

"Nobody you know, but-"

"Are you saying you stole it?"

"YES, DAMMIT! BUT THAT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO-"

"THE _HELL_ IT ISN'T! YOU JUST ADMITTED THAT YOU-"

"ENOUGH!" Vanilla hollered from the front door. "If you're going to start an argument, then would you kindly not do so in front of the entire neighborhood?"

The pair threw a harsh glare at each other, but both put their feelings aside to remain at least somewhat professional. Once inside the detectives were met with a disapproving look from Vanilla and confused looks by both Cream and Ray. For Cream it was a normal sense of not understanding why her step-father suddenly got into a shouting match. For Ray, however, it was a different case.

Being a detective in training himself he knew all about developing his ability to form hunches and, more importantly, find ways to prove them. Past experience and lessons had taught him that of all the detectives in Team Chaotix, Espio had this skill down the best. He therefore would never have showed up in the fashion he had if there wasn't something going on, and Ray's own hunches had an idea why he did.

"Now then, can you two conduct yourselves, or is that too much to ask for this early in the morning?" Vanilla demanded.

Vector sighed and nodded in agreement. "Yes, we can do that, my dear."

"Okay then. Let's get back to our breakfast then. Detective Espio, feel free to join us. There's plenty to go around."

"Vector, please, this is very-" Espio started quietly.

There was no verbal answer needed from the superior. A simple glare told Espio that he was out of line and out of place since he was in their home. The remainder of the breakfast was fairly awkward. The mood was somewhat somber, attempts to start conversations were short-lived, and the only members that really ate anything substantial were Cream and her mother.

During the meal, however, Ray's mind was a torrent of thoughts. If Espio was there it certainly meant that he'd discovered something that was important enough to make a house call to Vector. Although the Chaotix was certainly working on more than one case, there was only one that was currently of a top priority. And with Espio having been outside of the loop for a while now, there was no knowing specifically what he'd found out.

"I guess I made too much food this morning," Vanilla commented, somewhat upset.

"No you didn't, mom. Daddy and Detective Espio are just acting like a bunch of little kids. And coming from me, that's saying something!"

"You watch your stupid little mouth! I am an adult and you will respect that!" Espio snapped, pointing a finger a the rabbit.

Without even looking Vector's hand shot out and clasped onto Espio's pointing hand. Clenching down hard he yanked the chameleon toward him, almost pulling him off off the chair upon which he sat. If there was any lack of anger in Vector's eyes before, there surely wasn't any now.

"First off, don't _ever_ talk to my daughter like that again. You don't live here and you sure as hell aren't her parent. That being said, if you think_ that_ was a harsh comment, well, you'd better get ready because I'm going to have some harsh words with you after I wash up."

Vector released Espio and walked from the table. Before leaving the room he stopped and turned. "By the way, Espio, do you recall what I told you a couple days ago concerning your position on this team?"

"...Yes..." Espio mumbled.

"If what you have for me doesn't blow my socks off, I'm going to seriously consider having to let you go. Let that be an inspiration for making your case."

Vector disappeared upstairs as Espio stood over by a window in the room, staring out the window. Unseen by him or Vector Ray had been listening around the corner to see if he could hear anything important. He was about to give up when Espio, in a fashion very unlike himself, uttered his thoughts.

"You can do whatever you like to _me_, but I'll still prove to you who has been behind that car theft operation this week after what I found at Manic's place."

Ray had to cover his mouth to keep himself from squeaking or stuttering from fright. Knowing his hunches had been confirmed Ray had to contact Sonic and the others to warn them. Fortunately Ray still had his communicator that Tails had given him a few days ago. Unfortunately it was all the upstairs in the guest room he'd slept in. With Cream and Vanilla busy doing dishes and Vector washing up all he had to do was sneak past Espio and get to the communicator. But trying to sneak past a ninja was going to be impossible to do.

"Ray? Can you help my mother and I wish these dishes?"

"Uhh... Um... I gotta use the restroom!... Uhh, how about Espio! He could help you!"

From the other room Espio sighed, knowing that with as much trouble he was in he might as well not resist. Passing by Ray he gave his a sideways glance to show his irritation, but other than that, there was no suspicion of any kind. Knowing this was his only chance Ray shot upstairs, grabbed his communicator he'd left in the room, and hid in the bathroom of his guest room. That was when Ray discovered he had a slight problem.

_"I don't remember how to use this thing!"_ he thought frantically.

Ray began to try to relearn how to use the device, knowing that every second that went by he was getting closer to being caught.

* * *

Elsewhere in the early morning thing were still in full swing for those in The Autokrieg. The actions that Shadow and Rouge had taken spread around the team and eventually made their way to Sonic and Sally. They were furious about what had happened. With Espio hot on their tail they knew the amount of heat on them was going to skyrocket. Seeing no alternative, the order was given to double-time all actions.

Anything that could be done to save time or speed up completion of the job was authorized by the leaders. Such actions included anything from damaging the cars as part of stealing them faster to picking alternate vehicles to steal instead of the ones whose locations and parameters were known. This, however, was no easy task. Sure enough the police presence was higher and that meant that everybody still couldn't move as fast as they wanted to. Several times there were small chases that broke out or the teams had to lie and wait until the coast was clear.

Despite the hardships, the past hour yielded crucial results. These results were the cause for a certain lackey at the drop-off point to become increasingly nervous. His feelings weren't helped when a phone call came from Robotnik.

"...S-sir?"

_"Status report, please."_

"Plan B... well, sir... plan B..."

_"I'm waiting, Snively."_

"Plan B isn't working, sir... they're still coming in. Four more were just dropped off a moment ago."

_"Where does that leave us?"_

With a deep swallow, Snively answered "86%, sir. There's just enough left for the entire team to finish it off in one trip."

_"Hmm.. I see..."_

"What do you think we should do, sir?"

_"I ask the questions, Snively. You know that."_

"Eep! Yes, yes I do!"

_"But what you don't know is that it doesn't matter because Plan C is currently underway."_

"What is... I mean, what does... Pardon me, I mean Plan C must have been reserved for only the most dire situations."

_"Quite right, Snively. And I'm sure that you're quite curious as to what Plan C involves, aren't you?"_

"Quite so, sir."

_"Patience, dear nephew. Plan C shall reveal itself soon. In the meantime keep up with your job. If I'm right, things are going to fall into place precisely as I want them too."_

"I understand, sir," Snively concluded, ending the call. "I do wish that fat bastard would quit with this stupid suspense act already," he mumbled to himself.

* * *

Back at the base of operations, AKA Manic's house, all fourteen members of the team had assembled for a final meeting. Since there were exactly fourteen cars left it meant that, if they made the right moves and decisions, they could have the job done within the hour, a full hour ahead of schedule. The discussion included what cars were left, the mounted police presence, the lack of time, and most importantly the fact that the rest of the city was beginning to rise and would be hitting the roads soon too.

"Are you sayeeng zat at zis time een an 'our we could be done?"

"That's right, Antoine" Sally answered. "Although it's not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Everything we just discussed is going to complicate doing so."

"Not to mention, like, we're all running on empty here," Sonia commented.

"I heah yah, girl," Bunnie added.

"I think the only thing that's kept us all going was the adrenaline from what we're doing," Knuckles pointed out.

"Maybe for you guys, but for a senior like myself it's a damn miracle I'm still on me feet," Chuck stated.

"But ya gotta admit, Unc., it's a bigger miracle that the end of this night-"

"And job," Manic interrupted.

"_And job_, is within reach," Sonic pointed out.

"Hmph."

"You have something to add, Shadow?" Sally asked.

"I do... I find it odd that after hours of virtually no contact with the authorities now we are inundated with their presence."

"Well who do we have to thank for that?" Sonic jabbed.

"I know you would love to pin this on Rouge and I, blue hedgehog. But I stand by the fact that we did not start this. And since you never gave us a chance to explain why we believe that to be so, I request to have our side of the story told."

"Fine, but make it quick," Sally instructed.

"Thank you... The simple fact is this. Nobody had been following us as we approached the docks, at least from what we saw. The only vehicles we saw on the road were a handful of semi-trucks, a few regular cars, and one motorcycle, which looking at things now had to be Espio given how quickly he showed up after we got off of Route 101."

Rouge took over. "And when Espio did find us he suspected us straight away. I know he was suspicious over the way Avy had acted but-"

"Who is this Avy, anyway? I've never heard of her before," Sonic asked.

"She's an old friend of mine. And trust me, you wouldn't want to know her. Sometimes even I wonder why I'm friend with her."

"Some friendship," Knuckles mumbled.

"Whatever the case, what happened then?" Sally insisted.

"Espio seemed more interested in the motorcycles we were on, as well as the Cadillac he'd seen at my club while I was still there earlier. He started trying to pin that we'd stolen them on the spot with practically no evidence to back such a belief up. But no matter how we defended ourselves he didn't believe us and threw the cuffs on us."

"At that point Espio inspected the bikes and said he found signs of "tampering," which is next to impossible considering how delicate we were in stealing those motorcycles. He called for back up, but I was able to teleport out of the cuffs and hold Espio off long enough for Rouge to escape. I took to hiding until I could get the upper hand."

"You threatened him with a gun, didn't you?" Sonic asked.

"I did draw one of my weapons and readied it for fire, but I never pointed it at him. At that point I created the distraction by blowing up the propane tank and teleported us to safety."

"Another unnecessary action," Sally commented.

"At that point we separated and... Well, fast-forward until now and that's where we stand."

"There's no way Espio would just let you leave like that. What happened before you left him?" Sonic asked.

"I defended that I never meant him harm and that I wasn't his enemy, nor was he mine. I then said that I was trying to stop one, meaning an enemy. Then I left."

There was a silence following the description. Everybody did agree that it seemed strange that Espio, who had been outside of the loop with this situation for so long, suddenly showed up throwing around accusations. There was a common notion that there was a missing link, and before they continued they had to figure out what it was.

"Rouge... You say that Espio had showed up at your club earlier, right?" Sally asked.

"Yeah. He was all depressed and said he was thinking about quitting the Chaotix."

"Say _what?_"

"That's right. He was so down that had I not been so worried about keeping up my cover I would have felt sorry for him. But he was genuinely depressed, no doubt in my mind. He certainly didn't suspect me of anything, at least at that point. And he never saw Shadow since he'd left minutes earlier. So..."

"Something must have happened between when you left him and when he found you again," Chuck stated.

"Whatever started him on that path must have happened at the club," Silver suggested.

"Was there anything that could have tipped him off at the club?" Sally asked.

"There couldn't have been. Rouge and I purposely kept that place free of anything that could tie us to this task. Being a legal place of business we didn't want to risk having the reputation of the club ruined by such a careless act."

"Oh _shit_..." Rouge suddenly said. "I... I think I know what happened... After we dropped off the motorcycles we teleported back to the club to see if Espio had been bluffing or not. When we got there Avy was out cold in my bedroom, so he must have drugged her like he said. She was otherwise okay, but..."

"What is it?" Shadow asked.

"I put all of Avy's belonging away in my closet. I did see Espio's motorcycle keys inside a hidden pocket in her jeans, but... I didn't see her cell phone. And I know _for a fact_ Avy is really bad about deleting old messages and voice mails... I think Espio might have taken her phone."

"Are you saying that you revealed important details of this mission over a cell phone!" Sonic proclaimed.

"Rouge, what could Espio have gotten from your friend's phone?" Sally demanded.

"Two things. I sent her a voice mail a few days ago saying that there was a big job coming up and I needed somebody to watch the club while I took care of it."

"Damn, talk about a dumb-ass move! No wonder he suspected you of something!" Knuckles shouted.

"Great... So now Espio might have a recording of you saying you're part of some "big operation," Manic pointed out.

"It gets worse, Manic. I... I might have incriminated you indirectly. Right before we got to the club I sent Avy a text saying we were coming to get her and... Amy."

Manic's eyes widened a bit. "Dude, Espio knows that Amy is my girlfriend. If he thought that Rouge were up to something and Amy was in the middle of it, then..."

Manic's face suddenly went blank as he rushed over to his laptop and flipped open its screen. He typed away furiously on it, leaving everybody to wonder what could have come over him. A moment later he let out a relieved sigh and looked up.

"It's alright... I thought for a moment that maybe Espio might have come here and tried to see what was on the laptop here, but all of my safeguards and firewalls say that no attempts to log in or hack in were attempted."

"Wait. I want to confirm that," Sally stated, retrieving NICOLE. "NICOLE, scan Manic's computer. Try to find any traces of tampering or hacking."

"Accessing, Sally... Hacking attempt detected. Around 4 A.M. an exterior device was used to bypass all security features and access to any information on this device was possible."

It was difficult to say whether the tension or silence was more powerful at that moment, but what was even more evident was the sudden feeling of dread. To think that the essence of their operation, the list, had been compromised was unthinkable. So much so that Manic tried to offer the only denial of the evidence that he could.

"But... that's impossible. Me and Antoine were here at the exact same time to take a quick break. I know for a fact that I saw nothing weird here. Did you, Antoine?"

"Non, I saw not zee theeng."

"Then he couldn't have been here... could he?"

"Espio is a ninja, bro. His specialty is not being detected," Sonic pointed out. "He could have very well been here while you were."

"Then that means..." Manic started.

"'E might 'ave seen me too... and zat eez not good," Antoine finished.

"And the worst thing is there's no way of knowing for sure where Espio is now or what he's doing," Tails finished.

Nobody really knew what to think at this point, except for the fact that the all wanted an absolution to this situation. Before anything more could be said Sonic's communicator beeped, indicating somebody was trying to contact him. This came as strange to him, as well as all the others, considering they were all in the same room. Looking down his eyebrows shot straight up.

"It's Ray," Sonic told the others, turning to the channel Ray was on. "Ray, what's up little bud? Didn't think we were going to hear from y-"

_"Y-y-y-y-you n-n-n-need t-t-t-t-t-to get up here to V-v-v-v-vector's house! Espio is here, and I th-th-th-think he knows about y-y-y-you know what!"_ the squirrel whispered frantically.

"Woah woah woah, calm down," Sonic said calmly, not letting his current fears through. "Take a deep breath and tell me what's up."

_"Espio sh-showed up a few m-minutes ag-g-o. He was on some m-m-motorcycle that wasn't his and he and V-vector got in a fight."_

"That's nothing new," Knuckles said sarcastically off to the side.

"What did they say?" Sonic continued.

_"Espio k-kept saying he had to s-say something imp-p-portant, but Vector didn't let him sp-sp-speak. But I overhead Espio saying that he thinks he can prove who's b-been behind..."_

"Ray?..._ Ray?_..."

_"I'm here... I thought I heard somebody coming..."_

"Alright, look. Don't put yourself in any danger of being caught. I'll be there in just a moment. Where's the safest place I could teleport to?"

_"Umm... I th-think maybe the garage."_

"Okay, I'll be there in just a moment. You just lay low and stay cool until then. Got it?"

_"Y-yes. Just hurry! Vector's gonna talk to Espio really soon!"_

"Don't you worry about that. Just do as I said and I'll contact you somehow when I get there, okay?"

_"Okay."_

"Good. See ya shortly."

How Sonic had kept himself to relaxed was anybody's guess, but the situation was anything but stress-free. By agreeing to meet with Ray that meant that the rest of the team was going to be a down a member, thus throwing off their plans for a speedy finish to the job. Sonic knew this, as did the others.

"I have to check this out, guys. You're gonna hafta finish without me."

"Oh I don't think so, Sonic!" Sally announced. "We've come way too far for you to-"

"I'm not ditching on you. But I can't let Espio get away with this."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"I don't know yet. I'll think of something."

"Oh for the love of Mobius, Sonic! You're just asking for trouble with this stupid idea!" Sally shouted

"And were also asking for trouble by not looking into it!" Sonic returned in an equal tone.

"What if you get caught up there!"

"What if Espio tells Vector everything!"

"THAT'S ALL THE MORE REASON FOR GETTING THIS MISSION FINISHED!"

"NO, IT'S ALL THE MORE REASON TO COVER OUR ASSES SO THIS MISSION _DOES_ GET FINISHED!"

"FINE! IF YOU WANT TO RISK EVERYTHING AND ALL OF US, THEN GO AHEAD!"

"ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT!"

**"DAMN SURE!"**

**"GOOD!"**

The truth was neither of them were really angry. Perhaps Sally was a little, but not as much as she made herself out to be. Since all the others were still under the assumption that they were on bad terms they'd decided to keep the act up for the time being.

Manic stepped forward from the others. "I'm going with you, Sonic."

"Say_ what?_"

"Don't act stupid, dude. You need me for this one."

"I'm not following you, bro."

"Even if you are breaking off from the main group you can still contribute to getting this mission done."

"_Still_ not following."

"Did you forget? Vector owns the Cadillac Escalade we need. Once we solve this problem with Espio we can can steal his, but you're gonna need me because you know he's probably got it rigged with just as many security systems as his Saleen Mustang, which we also still need to get. And you know damn right well that if there's anybody that can get around his security systems, it's me."

Sonic cocked and eyebrow. "I'm with ya on the Mustang, but remind me again why we need to take Vector's Escalade, given that's there's a mondo-supply of them here in town?"

"Because a little research showed that the Escalade has the highest-reported theft-rate and insurance-theft protection around here. Don't you think with the rising heat here in the city every Escalade will be to hot to touch? If we take Vector's it'll look like a normal suburb commuter coming into town."

Sonic thought for a moment. "Given how crazy this night has been and how crazy it's about to get with this next move... what the hell. Let's get crazy."

"Sweetness."

"M'excuser, but, eef Maneek eez to be goeeng weeth you, what shall Preencess Sally and I do?"

"Easy. Pick somebody to go with."

Antoine and Bunnie looked at each other and rushed together, knowing that for the first time since all of this started they were going to be together. Sonia looked a bit frazzled by this turn of events.

"Think you can handle teleporting three at once?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, but I'm probably, like, going to be all tired out from doing so!"

"There's no "I" in team, sis," Manic pointed out.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"You're quite welcome."

"So what about you, Sal?" Sonic asked.

"No hard feelings to the rest of you, but given this chance I'm gonna hang out with my girl Julie-Su," Sally announced, joining with the two echidnas.

"Take good care of her, Knux. And don't push her around too much because you know she'll kick you ass," Sonic joked.

"I'm not_ that_ dumb, Sonic. I think I can handle it."

"We'll see," Julie teased.

"Don't even start, Julie. _Don't even start._"

"Coolness. Well, if we're gonna get this damn thing finished up we better move. Manic, any suggestions for their final targets?"

"Yeah. Since we've two groups of three now they can handle the three Ford Boss Mustangs and three "Bullitt" Mustangs left. The rest can pick up the final odds and ends, and we'll get the Escalade and Saleen Mustang."

"Dibs on the Boss's" Sally stated.

"I knew you'd say that, Sally girl," Bunnie added.

"Okay guys, I think we have a plan here. Just keep you heads clear and your eyes focused and we're gonna get through this, no matter what Espio, Eggman, or anybody has to say about it. Let's do it do it."

And with that the rest of the team disappeared in brilliant flashes of colored light to get their final targets. Sonic and Manic held around for just a second to have one quick word with each other.

"You think we'll make it, dude?"

"I'm gonna be honest... I don't know. I never thought things would get this fucked up."

"That makes two of us."

"But I do know that the longer we wait, the worse things are gonna get. You ready to do something this crazy?"

"Come on, dude, you know who you're talking to?"

"Just what I wanted to hear. Take my hand."

"That didn't sound right."

"Whatever... CHAOS CONTROL!"

* * *

It turned out that Ray had heard somebody coming. Fortunately it was Vanilla coming up stairs to ask her husband about what was happening. From the bit that Ray could eavesdrop on there wasn't much of importance discussed other than that the meeting with Espio was going to take place in the study room on the second floor. This sole fact worried Ray because this room was in the complete opposite end of the house from where the garage was. Somehow he had to get down to the garage to see if the two hedgehogs had arrived, find out what they wanted to do, then somehow relay everything said between Vector and Espio.

Not wanting to seem suspicious Ray decided to head back downstairs, but before he could reach the stairs he was cut off by Vanilla.

"There you are! I was starting to wonder if you were alright."

"Heheh, I'm fine. I just had a piece of food stuck in my teeth. Took forever to floss it out, heheh," he lied.

"Ah, I see. Well, at least you got it. Wouldn't want your teeth to rot, would you?"

"Of course not."

"Oh, while I have your attention, Vector wanted me to tell you that he wants you to sit in on his meeting with Detective Espio."

"He wh-wh-what!" Ray squeaked, some of his fear escaping from the surprise.

"He said he felt that this far into your training you are ready to see how things are really done in this business."

"Oh... well, hooray then! That's awesome!"

"That's the attitude to have!"

Doing everything he could to hide his concerns Ray followed Vanilla downstairs. He didn't see Espio anywhere but heard him pacing in one of the front rooms. He proceeded to the kitchen where he was met by Cream with her hands on her hips.

"Well, what happened to you mister?"

"H-h-h-huh?"

"Right when I ask you to help with the dishes you run off and leave a guest to help!"

"Oh... I'm sorry, Cream. I just had a massive chunk of bacon in my teeth that was hurting my gums and I wanted to floss it out."

"Ray, we didn't have any bacon for breakfast. We had sausage."

"Uhh... we did?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh... well, uhh..."

"What's the matter with you, Ray? You're acting funny all of a sudden."

"I don't know... It's just, Espio shows up all flustered, your family is upset because of it, and now Vector wants me to be part of the meeting between him and Espio. Not exactly a great way to start a Friday morning, huh?"

"That's true. I'm sorry Ray."

"It's okay."

"I'm not talking about just that, though."

"Wh... what then?"

"Since you skimped out on the dishes, you get to take out the trash."

Cream indicated the large, black plastic bag sitting over by the door leading from the kitchen to the garage. Knowing this would be one of the only chances he had Ray inclined to accept the task and dragged the bag into the garage. Shutting the door behind him Ray looked around in the dark for Sonic but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Sonic... are you here?... _Sonic?_..." he whispered as he drug the bag along with him.

Reaching a pair of trash cans up by the front of the garage Ray lifted the lid off of one and tossed the bag into it.

"Yuck!"

Ray jumped almost a foot into the air, barely keeping himself from crying out. Sonic pushed the bag aside and stood up and out of the can. Manic followed.

"S-S-Sonic!... _Manic!_..." he whispered loudly.

"Shh! It's cool, dude. It was the safest place we could think to hide."

"Sonic, I thought only _you_ were coming!"

"Last minute change of plans."

"_Plans?_"

"Don't worry about that. What's the deal with you?"

"Vector wants me to sit in with him and Espio. He said he felt I have enough training to do so."

"Dude, that's perfect! These communicators have live feed! We can stay here and Ray and use his to send us what we need!"

"But I can't let them see this thing! They'll know something's up if they see it!"

"We don't need to see them. We just need to hear them. Keep it in your pocket or something."

"Okay, but what are you gonna do?"

"We'll stay here. After we've heard what we have to hear we're gonna take the Escalade here and-"

Behind them the door knob clicked open. The hedgehogs vanished into any shadow or behind any object they could. Ray turned to see Vector standing in the doorway, looking at him.

"The hell you up to, Ray? Looking for something?"

"Uh, no! I was just taking out the trash."

"Well thank you. Now I don't have to do it. But anyway, we're ready."

"Oh!... Okay!"

"Something up, Ray?"

"No! I'm just... ya know, a bit on edge. It's my first case, technically!"

"You got that right. Well, just finish with what you're doing there and head up to the study room. We'll be waiting for you."

"Sounds good!"

Luckily Vector shut the door, allowing the hedgehogs to come out from hiding. Needless to say Ray was not keen on the idea Sonic had just started to mention.

"You can't be serious, right! You can't steal Vector's car!"

"No choice, dude. We're on a tight schedule and we got an even tighter noose around our necks."

"And besides, after this we're going to go get Vector's Mustang, so either way we're in deep shit."

"But how are you going do to that!"

"You see the size of this place? So long as everybody is on the upper floor we should be able to get away," Manic explained.

"This is crazy, you guys!"

"We know," they answered in unison.

Figuring out that they'd made up their minds Ray nodded to say he understood and made for the door back to the kitchen. Looking back once more before he shut it Sonic gave the thumbs up. With that the door shut, leaving the hedgehogs to carry out their plan.

"Alright dude, we got a minute or two until Ray gets up there. What's the plan?"

"You work on getting the Escalade going and I'll listen in to the conversation. Like you said, Vector's bound to have this thing rigged with multiple security systems."

"Yeah..."

"What's up?"

"What do you want to do about his squad car over there?"

Sonic glanced over at the BMW M5. "Hadn't thought of that. You think that thing could catch us?"

"That could catch us easier than that Jeep Nack had two night ago."

"Hmm..."

"I could deactivate it without making it apparent."

Just then Sonic's communicator beeped, its screen displaying that Ray was attempting to send them the live feed. Sonic looked to his brother as he activated the feed and muted the microphone on their end.

"Do what you have to."

"Got it... Uhh, which should I do first?"

"Whichever you think will take less time."

_"Ahh, there he is. Come on over Ray, and pay attention. I'll help make a great detective out of you yet... So Espio, what do you have for us this early in the morning?"_

_"We've been mislead, Vector. We haven't solved this week's massive grand theft auto case."_

_"Oh for the love of-"_

_"I'm serious Vector. Over the past few hours I've uncovered a lot of new information that leads me to believe we've been following the wrong leads in this case."_

Vector sighed heavily. _"This better be really good."_

Manic began with the Escalade, feeling it was going to be easier to get into a car that wasn't designated to work purposes. Utilizing the tools and resources they'd had all night Manic made quick with getting into the SUV and began scanning it for both the best way to get it working and any hidden security systems.

At the same time Espio had begun telling his side of the story. He started with when he'd left his dojo on his motorcycle and went out for a cruise. He claimed to have seen and heard a lot of rare and unusual vehicles on the road during that time. In particular he mentioned his run-in with a steam power car that nearly made him crash. He also mentioned that he'd seen a pair of MOPAR muscle cars drag race away from a convenience store he'd stopped at. These statements made Sonic's quills twitch as he knew that his Uncle had been driving the steam car and that Team Red had stolen the Challenger and Cuda right around the same time. But when Espio also mentioned running into a black Yenko Camaro with no headlights Sonic's heart skipped, realizing just how close he and Sally had been to being caught after stealing that car from Scourge.

_"And how is any of this supposed to impress me, Espio?"_ Vector asked.

_"Doesn't it seem the least bit odd to you that I ran into such vehicles in the middle of the night? Not to mention that some of them were acting suspiciously?"_

_"You near crash from the steam car blowing its whistle was your own fault, not the driver's. Drag racing late at night has been popular long before any of us were born, and a car with its lights out was either leaving from or heading to another race. So... what do you think, Ray?"_

_"Umm..."_ Ray said nervously.

"Come on, Ray. Stay cool," Sonic said to himself.

_"It all sounds rather inconclusive. Circumstantial, you might say."_

_"I couldn't have said it any better. Very good, Ray."_

_"Thank you, sir."_

_"So Espio, care to try and impress me again?"_

Espio began to explain what happened when he initially went to club Rouge. Sonic started to pay a bit more attention now since the details here were a little more sketchy. Right about the same time, though, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Sonic twitched his ears to indicate he was listening.

"Done."

"That was quick."

"Wasn't that rigged up. Guess so it's easier for his wife to drive or something."

"Mm-hmm."

"Gonna start on the other."

"Okay."

Coming back to the conversation Espio had gotten to the point where he'd arrived at the club and was about to leave when he'd spotted a white Cadillac outside the club. From there he went into what happened inside the club, including the meaning of the Cadillac. He did, however, leave out the part where he told Rouge he was considering leaving the Chaotix. Instead he moved onto when Rouge and Avarice told them why the Cadillac was there.

_"Sounds believable to me,"_ Vector said.

_"Same here,"_ Ray followed.

_"There's more to it. Let me explain."_

Espio then went into when Avarice tried to seduce him and that around them he started to get suspicious. As he was recounting her actions Manic indicated that he'd finally gotten through the outer security system of Vector's BMW and was going to see about disabling it. Moments later was when Espio told them about drugging the feline.

_"What the hell were you thinking! Doing something like that takes careful planning! **What if it kills her!**"_

_"It was a mild sedative. The chances of ill effects were low. Even so, in this case the risk was worth it. Listen."_

Sonic swallowed a bit hearing the messages that Espio had found. Manic also perked up when he heard the connection Espio made between him and Amy. He briefly went into when he stole Avarice's motorcycle, triggering another outburst from Vector. But right before getting to Manic's house Espio was interrupted by Ray in an attempt to avoid that part of the story for the moment.

_"Wait a minute. Where was Shadow in all of this? I know he and Rouge run that club together."_

_"He's right. Did you ever see Shadow?"_

_"Not while I was there. The only mention I heard of him was that he and Rouge are... courting."_

_"What?" Vector exclaimed._

_"What?" Ray followed._

"Say _what?_"

"What the?"

_"Yes, Shadow and Rouge are involved with each other, intimately according to Rogue's friend."_

_"Well... that's unexpected, huh Ray? So... is that all you know about them?"_

_"No, I did run into them both later, but first I want to-"_

_"Tell me about that."_

_"But there's something far more-"_

_"**Tell me about** **that**."_

Knowing the story was going to go into what Shadow and Rouge had already told them Sonic was curious how Manic was doing. Turning around he saw Manic look up in astonishment and motion for him to come to the open trunk.

"Why are you looking in the trunk?"

"I underestimated how well built this car is. Trying to find a way into the places I need to go is tough so I looked in here. But seriously, dude... Vector's packin' some serious power in here."

Looking into the trunk there was no denying that the trunk of Vector's squad car was indeed packing some high-powered firearms. The first he spotted was in a pair of clamps on the inside of the trunk. It was a Remington Model 870 12-gauge tactical shotgun. It had black synthetic tactical stock, a front-end flash light and laser sight system, two side saddles filled with bright red shotgun shells and a bandoleer strap that held a great many more shells.

"I wouldn't want to find myself on the other side of that thing."

"It gets better. Look up in the back of the trunk on top."

Handing from another pair of clamps was a fully automatic Colt M4A1 assault rifle with many upgrades similar to the shotgun. Sonic had to take a second look at the weapon to make sure he was seeing things right. As he was looking he caught a part of the ongoing conversation on his communicator. Espio was up to where he and Shadow were fighting, therefore he would have to start paying attention again to see if Vector was going to respond to that.

"Does he plan on going to war or something?"

"Maybe. But that's still not all. Look what I found in the glove compartment."

From out of his fanny pack Manic revealed the grand-father of all semi-automatic pistols and a few extra magazines to go with it. It was a Desert Eagle in .44 magnum, finished in titanium gold and fitted with an upgraded finger-groove grip, colored optic sights, and factory-installed muzzle-brake to reduce the gun's massive recoil. The gun required for Manic to hold onto it with both hands due to its size and weight.

"Vector's been watching too many reruns of Dirty Harry... Wait a second. Why did you have that in your fanny pack?"

"Why else?"

"_Manic_..."

"What? We're already taking his Escalade, what's wrong with taking a little souvenir?"

"Isn't getting out of this alive a good enough souvenir?"

_"That's not good enough for me."_

For just a split second Sonic thought his brother had said this, but in fact it was Vector over the communicator. Realizing that Espio had finished his story both Sonic and Manic payed attention to see how much more difficult things were about to get.

_"How can that not be good enough?"_ Espio asked.

_"I admit that Rouge and Shadow's actions are suspicious and worth looking into. I also admit that this friend of Rouge's is also a person of interest that might tell us something. However, I am unconvinced that any of this proves that we made a huge mistake in investigating this case. You disappoint me, Espio. You really do."_

"Looks like we're in the clear, dude."

"I think so too."

_"There is something else."_

"Maybe not..."

* * *

"Is this even worth wasting your breath over?" Vector asked exasperatedly.

"There are no words needed for this. Have a look at this."

Though they couldn't see it, both hedgehogs could tell that Espio was navigating around a cell phone. What they also couldn't see was Ray's knees shaking as he knew where the situation was headed. Vector took the phone from Espio and began looking at it's contents.

"Hmm... Why does this look familiar? Wait a second... Espio, is this what I think it is?"

"Yes."

"My God... Ray, Espio's found the complete list of cars involved in this week's case!"

"R-r-really!" he squeaked, barely hiding his fear.

"Yes! Man, what I wouldn't have given to had this a few days ago!... Holy shit! My Saleen is on this list! I've got the only one of those in this whole city! Come on! We gotta give the S.S.P.D. the heads up on this."

"That's already been done."

"Oh good! Nice job, Espio."

"But I didn't call it in."

"What? Then who did?"

"That I don't know. I was only told it was an anonymous tip. However, what I do know is where that list came from."

"Where?"

Before Espio answered down in garage the brothers looked at each other. Their worst fears were now confirmed as they knew there was only one place that list had been kept.

"After I established the link between Amy and Manic I went to his house to see if he knew anything."

"Woah woah woah, wait a second... Are you telling me you found this list at Manic's house?"

"It was on his laptop that had been left running. When I found it there were updates being posted to it. Not to mention I saw him checking it as well."

"Then that means... the operation was going on all night and maybe even right _now_... and...," Vector paused, slamming his fist onto the table they sat at. "**That bastard Manic is involved in this!**"

"As I have said since the beginning."

"I can't believe this! We had the mastermind right under our noses how many times and we didn't even know it! Hell, not even Sonic knew it!... Or did he?"

"Sadly I have nothing to offer there. However, I do have further evidence that Manic is back to his old ways. When I arrived at this house I found an old BMW parked in his garage, a car that I can say quite confidently Manic would never drive. In the trunk I found three suitcases. One was full of money, the other cocaine. The final contained several Glock 18C's. Additionally I found weapons that belonged to Shadow the Hedgehog, Julie-Su the Echidna, and Bunnie Rabbot inside his house. Lastly, there were bullet shells across the street from Manic's house that matched those used in Nack's rifle we confiscated. Unfortunately due to my own actions we'll never be able to prove what the connection is with that, but it's my guess that Nack tried to kill Manic in order to steal those items that he must have had stashed at the house."

Ray could barely breathe he was so terrified as he knew this was going to seriously affect Sonic and the others. Vector buried his head in his hands as he digested all of this information.

"I gotta hand it to you, Espio. You stuck it to me this time. I've fucked up big time in this case. Everything you've said just now has made sense to some degree. And now you're saying that Julie-Su, who I've never trusted to being with, and Bunnie Rabbot are somehow connected to this as well. It makes me wonder who else could possibly be involved."

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but my final piece of evidence is I saw who I believed to be Antoine D'Coolette arrive at the house with Manic while I was there, though I couldn't confirm this. However, I did find a uniform that Antoine normally wears in the trunk of the car with the suitcases, but once again I could not confirm this."

"BUT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Ray shrieked, finally unable to keep his fears in any longer.

"I'm with Ray on this one. That's just not possible. Antoine is nowhere near here at this time."

"But I swear it looked and sounded like him. And that uniform looked real."

"Espio, think for just one moment. There's no way that was Antoine."

"Manic referred to him as Antoine."

"It's a common name for his nationality. And it's more than possible that this guy just looked like the real Antoine. Not to mention that uniforms can easily be faked. I'm sorry Espio, but that is one thing I think you're mistaken on."

"For the moment I'll assume that to be so. But as for the rest of it-"

"Say no more! We're putting a stop to this right now! My fellow detectives, follow me!" Vector shouted, to jumping to his feet.

* * *

Down in the garage Sonic and Manic were at a loss. Their cover had been blown open so wide that it was going to be impossible to put it back together. More specifically Manic's cover was blown wide open since Espio had seen him with the list.

"Well... this ain't good."

"Yeah, no kiddin dude. I swear I didn't know Espio was there."

"That doesn't matter. Right now we gotta think about how the hell we're going to contain this situation."

"... I have an idea."

"I'm all ears."

"I take the blame."

Sonic cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. I take the fall for everything Espio said."

"Still not following here."

"For always bragging about your speed you're pretty slow. Look, Espio's best evidence pins this shit on me. Everything else he has on Shadow, Rouge, and all the others is weak. The only person he knows for sure is involved with this is me. That means if we play things right I take the blame for everything and they, meaning Espio and Vector, forget about everybody else because they'd be convinced I'm the only person who's really guilty."

Sonic looked at his brother as if he were insane. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"Nope."

"Forget it. No way am I gonna let you do something that stupid when we're this close to the end."

"It's not stupid. It's crazy as all hell, but not stupid."

"And how is that?"

"Because in one move we're take all the heat off the others, at least as far as is concerned with these two. With all the heat on me that'll allow everybody else to finish up and nobody else will look guilty anymore."

"... Alright, I get where you're going. But still, this is a Hail Mary here, bro."

"Considering how late we are into the game, I think it's time for such a move."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, the obvious part is taking the SUV here. But since Espio thinks I'm into stealing guns now too, it means we take Vector's arsenal here too. Lastly, we make sure that Vector and Espio see me, and _only_ me, do this. After that I say a few words that convince them I'm the only one they're after, we get away, finish this job, save Antoine, take care of Robotnik, and call it a day."

"..."

"What?"

"I think I need to kick your ass. Literally."

"Why?"

"Because that's where your head is right now."

"So you think it's a bad idea? Guess what? So do I! But right now we don't have time for nice, neat little plans! Vector's probably gonna be down here in a minute or so and we're standing here arguing. If you're in, fine. If not, then teleport out of here and go do something more useful. Regardless of what you think I'm going through with this."

By now they could start to hear voices in the house, meaning Vector and everybody else were on their way. The hedgehogs stood in silence, one waiting for an answer, the other deciding if he should answer. Sonic was reluctant to give his brother the answer he wanted.

"All I'm asking for you to do is trust me. If you ever trust me, please... make it now."

The voices were getting louder and Sonic knew two things. They didn't have much time, and they didn't have much a choice. Sonic nodded. "Alright bro. This is your area of expertise. You call the shots."

"That's what I wanted to hear. Here's what we're gonna do..."

With only about a minute left Manic revealed his plans and the two acted on them. They both took refuge in the Escalade and not but ten seconds later Vector and everybody else from the house showed up.

"Vector, I don't understand this! How can you say that Manic is responsible for all of this!" Vanilla pleaded.

"I already told you! Espio's new evidence has his name written all over it! That bastard has been playing us since the beginning and now I'm gonna make him pay!"

"But there must be a mistake! He's been living a good life for so long! And he's been very helpful to you throughout your case!"

"Of course he has! Would you act suspicious if you knew the authorities were getting to close! Manic is guilty and I'm gonna bring him in!"

"How can you just stand there and make accusations when you don't even know if that's true! I insist that you look into this more carefully so that you can be sure that-"

"DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB, WOMAN! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! "

"SHUT UP!" Cream shouted, tears pouring from her eyes. "Who do you think you are yelling at mom like that! What gives you the right to take your frustrations out on us!"

"Don't talk to me like that! You know better!"

Cream was unphased by her step-father's threat. "MAYBE YOU JUST DON'T EVEN LOVE US ANYMORE! IF THAT'S THE CASE, I DON'T LOVE YOU EITHER!"

Cream ran from the garage with her emotions shattered. Ray trailed after Cream in concern, followed by Vanilla for the same reason. Before the mother left the garage she flashed a glare at her husband. For a moment Vector pondered if he'd let his emotions get the better of him. Looking down at Espio the chameleon nodded for him to take care of what he had to. This left Espio alone, or at least so he thought.

"Man, that was intense," Sonic whispered in a barely audible volume.

"I hear that."

Unseen by the lone detective Sonic was crouched down as low as he could be in the rear seat. Manic crouched in the rear of the SUV, giving him the best view of the garage. Poking his head up for a split second he saw only Espio. Crouching back down Manic knew what he had to do.

"Only Espio is left, dude."

"Are you gonna wait for Vector?"

"Nah. This is good enough."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"_The opportune moment_."

"_Very_ original."

"Shh! He's coming this way."

With nothing to do in particular Espio began slowly pacing the open area behind both of Vector's vehicles. Peeking up Manic saw Espio take out his iPhone and study the display on the screen. He didn't have to think twice about what the detective was looking at. With the phone being so exposed one well-timed and well-played move just might lead to Manic getting it, and he had a plan to do so. As quietly as he could Manic slip up behind the rear door of the SUV and grabbed its release handle. He then gingerly pulled the handle until with a metallic clunk it released.

"What are you-" Sonic began in a whisper.

Manic held up a finger to silence his brother. Espio had indeed heard the sound, but this was Manic's intention. Since the rear door only unlatched and did open all the way it had the appearance as if it had been opened via the vehicle's key FOB.

"Uhh, Vector? Did you just unlock your SUV?... Vector?"

Espio's query went unheard. Now curious as to just what happened Espio cautiously approached the vehicle, lightly tucking his phone away in a thin pocket of his riding suit. Inspecting the rear of the vehicle Espio couldn't see anything wrong so he assumed that it had been done by remote.

"Perhaps Vanilla is getting ready to pack her bags and leave Vector," Espio joked with himself, turning away.

_"BINGO!"_

The opportunity to strike had come. Forcing every ounce of strength he had into his legs Manic kicked the rear hatch open. As it swung upwards it clocked Espio in his upper back and the back of his skull. The impact was hard enough that it knocked him straight to the ground, which caused yet another impact to his head. When he'd hit the ground his phone had flow from his pocket a landed a couple feet to the side of him. In the daze that followed from two sudden impacts Espio could only focus on grabbing the phone that held the best evidence he had. Before he could grab it a red and white shoe slammed down on top of the device.

"Unh-unh_-uuuuuuh_."

Espio knew the voice. He recognized the attire. He identified the fur color. Looking up he came into eye contact with the very green hedgehog he'd suspected from the very beginning. The chameleon's brow arched deeply as he glared at his prime suspect.

"_Manic_."

"That's me."

"You bastard... I knew it was you! I knew it all along!"

"You knew it was me all along? Wow! Pretty amazing that you knew I was here when I didn't even tell you I was coming."

"It doesn't take a scientist to figure out why you were hiding in that SUV. You're a thief, and better yet now I have the proof to put you away for it."

"Well that's where you're wrong, bitch. See, I currently have the evidence under my foot, which technically makes it mine. And without that you got nothin' on me. Doesn't that suck?"

"I'll be damned if I'll just let you walk away with my hard-fought evidence!"

Espio tensed up to pounce on the hedgehog, but Manic was far faster on the draw. From out of his fanny pack Manic drew the gold Desert Eagle and held it up for Espio to see. As brave as he was, Espio's heart halted momentarily when he saw this. Not only was such a weapon a formidable in such tight quarters and at such close a distance, but this also meant that Manic had broken into Vector's BMW. Espio knew all too well what kind of firepower he had been in that trunk.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

"... How?... How the hell did you break into that car? Vector had more security on that than a bank vault has!"

"You do realize who you're talking to, right? I've broken in to banks in a past life. A car is nothing compared to that."

"Why didn't you just steal that one?"

"Heh... because I already got one during the night. Besides, you really think I'd be stupid enough to steal a squad car? All I wanted was the toys inside."

"So that proves I was right. You're not only stealing cars, you're stealing guns too!"

"And what evidence do you have to prove that? Zip, zero, nada!"

"So what are you going to do, Manic? You going to kill an officer in cold blood?"

"Funny you mention killing. That's exactly what I'm about to do."

Espio braced, but Manic instead leaned down to swoop up the phone. As much as Espio wanted to stop him, the odds were not in his favor and he knew he could do nothing.

"I gotta admit Espio, whatever program you used to hack into my computer must be pretty damn good. I'd love to take it for myself, but... this phone has seen too much."

Holding the phone in one hand Manic rammed the bottom of the grip of the pistol into the screen, destroying it and breaking through to the electronics. He then threw the device to the ground, further rendering it useless. With a swipe of his foot Manic sent the broken phone sliding across the ground and into an unseen part of the garage.

"That takes care of that."

"Hmph! You're crazy if you think I'm just going to let you get away!"

"_You're_ crazy if you think you're gonna stop me. All I gotta do is start the engine and I can leave. But first... I have one last thing to take care of."

"What are you going to do?"

"It's not what I'm gonna do, it's what _you're_ gonna do... Get on your feet."

Espio couldn't believe he was at the the mercy of an armed criminal again, but he wasn't about to risk his life. Standing up Espio maintained a deep stare with his foe, not daring to let Manic somehow get the better of him. The hedgehog motioned with his head to move towards the BMW. He obeyed.

"Now what?"

"Reach in and pop the trunk. The door is unlocked."

"Obviously."

Espio pulled the trunk latch, then went to the rear of the car as instructed. Manic pointed to the shotgun and assault rifle inside and then pointed to himself.

"Surely, you can't be serious."

"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley," Manic joked.

Espio reluctantly removed the firearms from the trunk and placed them in the back of Escalade. Inside the SUV Sonic was growing impatient and worried. He knew that Vector was going to come back sooner or later, and if he came back sooner there was no way they'd get away.

_"Come on, bro! Step on it!"_

"Will that be all, thief?"

"Not quite. You see those valve stems on the tires of Vector's car?"

"_No._"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to flatten Vector's tires. Do it yourself."

"Actually, that's not a half bad idea. This hand cannon ought to do it."

Manic took a firing stance, but a deep sigh from the detective indicated he would do as told. Flashing another glare at Manic Espio knelt beside the M5 and one by one unscrewed the valve stems on each tire. The hissing of the escaping air was rather noisy, a fact that would draw a lot of unwanted attention. From past experience Manic's instinct told him it was time to leave.

"You've done well, Espio. How can I begin to pay you back?"

"By admitting your guilt and turning yourself in."

"You'll have to take a rain check on that one. Right now I gotta make like a tree and leave. Adios, dude."

"Wait... Do you really think you're going to get away with this?_ Honestly_."

"Of course. I wouldn't have taken things to this level if I didn't think I could."

"That's very brazen of you to think so. In fact, I think it's down right stupid."

"The only thing that's stupid is the fact that it was this easier for me."

"Actually, you're wrong. The only thing that's stupid is something I _just_ noticed."

"What's that?"

"...That pistol's safety is on."

Out of habit Manic glanced over at the weapon's safety. Somehow, in all the confusion he'd indeed forgotten to flick the gun's safety off. He'd never intended on shooting anyone or anything, but this simple oversight meant that Espio now had an advantage, one that he was going to capitalize on. That advantage was the moment where's Manic's attention was on the gun's safety, precisely the break Espio had been waiting for.

Little did Manic know that earlier when Espio had been heading out of town he made a quick stop back at his dojo to pick up a few items, mainly pocket-sized weapons. Seeing his opportunity Espio's hand whipped to a rear pocket and grabbed a triplet of throwing stars. In a swift toss of the arm and flick of the wrist Espio sent the flying weapons towards his target. So fast was Espio's attack that by the time Manic figured out what he'd done there was little time left to react.

"Shit!"

With only a fraction of a second left Manic threw himself out of the way and the three shruiken flew past him and lodged themselves into the side of the wall. Before he could recover Espio delivered a flying kick to his chest, sending him stumbling back and falling to the floor by the passenger door. When he looked up Espio was standing at the rear of the vehicle, another triad of throwing stars waiting to be launched.

"Drop the weapon."

"Hell no."

"_Drop the weapon._"

"Are you deaf? I said no!"

"Last chance. Drop the weapon, or I will have no choice but to defend myself."

"Yeah... like you did with Nack?"

"Nack had shown he was a threat to us all. But it's not too late for you... _yet_."

"Well then, I guess you'll just have to kill me because I'm not letting go of this gun, nor am I leaving without this SUV."

"Then you leave me no option."

Neither of them knew that Sonic had been coming up with his own plan. Since he'd been in the back seat the entire time Sonic threw open the rear passenger door just in time and the trowing stars lodged into the inner panels of the door.

"Get in! NOW!"

With the door acting as a shield Manic was able to pull himself to his feet and up into the front passenger seat. Simultaneously Sonic had hopped from back seat up into the driver's seat and, using the faux key Manic had left in the ignition, got the engine started and yanked the transmission down into drive.

Caught off guard Espio hesitated for a moment. He had a glimpse of Sonic jumping into the front seat, but in the dark garage he had no idea that it was him. All he knew what that it was another hedgehog. What he also knew was that, once again, his one and only lead was getting away.

"NO!"

Not being able to accept this failure again Espio desperately sprinted for the rear of the vehicle. He managed to get a step up on the rear bumper and grabbed onto the back of the vehicle's roof rack. He was unable to hang on once they reached the end of the driveway and the g-forces from the sharp left turn threw him off. He collided hard with the ground and rolled several times, stopping in the middle of the street. Despite the hard fall Espio's adrenaline was pumping through his veins at full speed. Jumping to his feet he made a b-line for "his" motorcycle. As he got to it was when Vector came running from the house, the rest of his family and Ray close behind.

"Espio, what the hell happened! Where's my Escalade! Who's responsible for this!"

"Manic!"

That was all Espio had time to say before he sped away from the house. Vector was left with a look of astonishment which transitioned into fury.

"That little son of a bitch..."

"Vector, please, what is going-" Vanilla started.

"I'LL KILL HIM!"

Vector sprinted for his BMW, the others close behind. Just as the got to the garage they were met with a roar of frustration. They could clearly see, as did Vector, that his tires were well on their way to being flat. That was when Vector also noticed his glove compartment was open, his coveted gold Desert Eagle missing. This spurred him to open where he found his shotgun and assault rifle to be missing.

"Vector, please! What's happening!" Vanilla pleaded.

"Everybody inside! Now!"

The tone in Vector's voice told them this was serious so they took refuge just inside the kitchen. Vector picked up a wireless phone and began dialing a number on it. As he waited for the other side to answer he finally told the others what they wanted to know.

"Manic was here. He stole our Escalade, my guns, and disabled my squad car. Vanilla, you and Cream go upstairs and stay in study room where it's safe! Go!"

"Oh my God! Come on Cream, we have to hurry!"

"Mom, are we in danger!" Cream cried as they ran off.

"No sweetie, we'll be okay! I promise!"

"V-v-ector? Should I go with th-them?"

"No. You go out to the garage! I've got a high-power air-compressor and a car jack! Start working on getting those tires inflated! MOVE!"

As he raced out to the garage Ray was sure that Manic had tampered with Vector's car to buy them time. He felt guilty undoing the work, but he had to keep up his end of scheme. As Ray gathered the equipment to get the car going again he could hear Vector talking to the head of security for the entire closed community within which they lived. He was giving them all the information they needed to prepare for and stop Manic. Taking a huge risk Ray took his communicator out of his pocket and typed in a quick message to the others.

"I hope they get this..." he thought fearfully.

* * *

"HANG ON!"

Sonic took a right turn at high speed, pitching the rear of the SUV out wide and making the tires squeal. Espio cut across a corner property lawn to cut the distance between him and his pursuees. He was easily able to keep up with them due to his motorcycle's performance, much to the hedgehog's dismay.

"He's too fast! We can't outrun him!"

"Then we'll just have to out-drive him, dude!"

"This is a residential area! I'm not risking hurting innocent bystanders!"

"...Idea!"

"Idea?"

"IDEA!"

After flying around another corner Manic held up the gold pistol. "We have guns."

"OH _HELL_ NO! DON'T EVEN _THINK_ ABOUT IT!"

"Relax! I'm not gonna shoot him! I just wanna see if I can scare him a bit."

"Well you better freaking hurry! I think we're getting close to the exit!"

"Just leave it to me!"

Manic waited until Espio got close up behind them, then lowered the passenger window and leaned out, holding the gun left-handed for a better angle while holding on with his right hand.

"Hey Espio!" Manic yelled as he held the gun in plain sight.

Behind them Espio began to swerve violently back and forth, fearing that he could be shot at any moment. Manic kept his aim on the motorcycle but due to both Espio's swerving and the hard turns Sonic was making it kept getting thrown off. Manic had been planning on this, though.

"The exit's up ahead past this turn!"

"Sweet! Espio's dropped back quite a bit! Now's our chance!"

Coming around the final corner Sonic's eyes widened. Vector's call ahead to he community's security center gave ample time for two security cars to block the road. There was an opening between the two vehicles, but it was barely wide enough for a small car to get through head on. The only hope was to take the opening on a turn and hope they made it through.

"Hang on, bro!"

"Huh!"

Manic had been so focused on Espio he didn't know about the road block. Before he could look around Sonic turned the wheel hard left, nearly sending Manic flying out of the window. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the grip he had on the passenger seat headrest. Coming back to the right Sonic aimed the SUV for the opening. The strong g-forces sent Manic slamming against the outside of the vehicle. The impact almost made Manic lose his grip and his muscles clenched to hold on, including his fingers.

To Manic's terror the gun went off, the recoil almost sending it flying out of his hand. There was the distinct sound of a bullet ricochet as the bullet bounced off the surface of the road. Manic saw Espio suddenly flinch and skid off to the side of the road and come to a stop, not knowing if the bullet had struck him or not.

"What the fuck are you doing!"

"Trying not to fall out of this thing, thank you very much!" he answered, sliding back down inside the SUV.

"You said you weren't going to shoot!" Sonic screamed, turning to his brother..

"I didn't mean to! I accidentally pulled the trigger when- DUDE!"

This time it was Sonic's turn to not see what was coming. There was a sliding bar gate that was supposed to block the entrance to the closed community. It had been left open for the patrol cars to get in, but now it was closing as they approached. Even at their current speeds getting through it was too close to call.

A little in front of the gate was a rather steep speed bump. Knowing how top heavy the SUV was Sonic jerked the wheel hard to the left as the left tires hit the bump. Holding the wheel steady the vehicle went up on the two right wheels and gave them the few extra inches they needed to get through the closing gate. Slamming back down on all four wheels they began to escape as the gate behind them locked shut in security lock down mode. They made it to a main road and turned away from the community.

Ordinarily the two brothers would have been ecstatic over the stunt they'd just pulled, but for obvious reasons this did not occur. "I can not believe you did that."

"I told you I didn't mean to shoot."

"Doesn't change the fact that you did. "

"It was an accident!"

"You think those officers back there care? Or Espio? Or Vector, when he finds out?"

"What do you want me to say!"

"Nothing... Just... nothing."

Knowing they had to put some distance between themselves and the community behind them since they were likely to be followed. There was an uneasy tension between them as they sat in silence, not even looking at each other. Manic didn't dare mention that he might have accidentally shot Espio.

* * *

Back in the community Espio was heading back to Vector's house. With the community in lock-down mode the gates wouldn't open for a period of time so it was impossible for him or the security units to pursue Sonic and Manic. Pulling up to the house Vector came running out to his team mate.

"Espio, what the hell are you doing back here!"

Espio removed his helmet and looked to his boss. Right away the crocodilian knew something was wrong as the look on Espio's face was an equal mixture of fear, anger, and relief. Turning his helmet sideways there was a large gash in it along the right side.

"Manic tried to kill me with your pistol. And he's not alone. There was somebody else in there helping him, but I didn't see who."

Vector took the helmet and inspected the bullet's damage. He determined that another inch over would have landed the projectile into the side of Espio's head and, given the caliber of the round, would have killed him instantly.

Snarling, Vector threw the helmet into the ground so hard it bounced several feet away. He was so enraged he could do nothing but pace while clenching his fists and grumbling loudly. This caught the attention of his wife and daughter, as well as Ray in the garage. With one final exclamation of profanity Vector had released enough stress to talk again. He approached his partner, signaling for him to cut the bike's engine to cut out distractions.

"Which way did they go?"

"They're headed for Route 101. Are we going to pursue them?"

"What do you think?"

"We can call for backup so that they can't get too far ahead and-"

"No."

"No?"

"No backup. I want to catch that bastard myself."

"But Vector, they're getting away as we speak. We have no idea where's they're going nor do we know what their intentions are."

"That is where you are wrong. I know exactly where he's going."

"How do you know?"

"Show me the list and I'll show you."

"I... can't. Manic destroyed my phone."

Vector grimaced in anger but kept his composure. "It doesn't matter. I still know where he's going."

"How?"

"Think about it, Espio. Manic chose to come here to make a statement. He wanted to prove that he's not afraid that he thinks he can do anything and get way with it. He's out to make of fool of me because he knows he's been playing me the whole time. And to top it all off, he's going to go after the one car that he knows will get my attention... Manic is going to steal my Saleen Mustang, and he's on his way to do it right now."

"Intriguing... but how do you know he hasn't stolen it already?"

"I know Manic. He's looking to cause trouble. What happened here was only an invitation to join his little game."

"Vector?... What's going on?" Vanilla asked cautiously, walking up from behind.

"Vanilla... I apologize for losing my temper at you and Cream, but my hunches have now been confirmed. Manic is guilty... and I'm going to make him pay for what he's done."

"I still think you're wrong."

Vector ignored his wife. "Espio, that SUV has a GPS unit on it that's practically untraceable. Manic may be good at detecting and disabling security systems, but I know he did not get that one. We can track his movements with help from the S.S.P.D. and catch him in the act."

"Excellent."

"Ray, is that car ready to go?"

"Y... yes sir."

"Good. Let's move. I know a rear emergency exit that we can use to by-pass the lock down. Oh, and you'll be needing this."

As Vector walked towards the garage he tossed Espio's helmet back to him. The bullet had not damaged a microphone system that was installed in the helmet so communications with Vector and the S.S.P.D. were still possible. Espio strapped on the helmet and moved the bike out the the edge of the driveway as Vector got into his squad car with Ray.

"Ray?"

"Y-y...yes?"

"I know you're friends with Manic, but I need to know now. Is that going to affect your actions in this case?"

"I... I'll do what needs to be done" Ray slyly answered.

"As will I."

Vanilla watched as the trio of detectives left the home and proceeded down the road an disappeared around a corner. She was joined by Cream as they did.

"What's going to happen, mom?"

"Nothing that can be considered good, my dear Cream... Nothing good..."

* * *

At the rear of the community Espio and Vector had exited through a service entrance and were on a small back road. Reaching the main road they headed straight for Route 101. Espio went ahead per Vector's plans to serve as a lookout and would keep in touch via his helmet radio. Inside his car Vector looked more determined and angry than ever Ray had seen him. When a radio call came in from the S.S.P.D. about the position of his SUV's location Vector only glanced at the radio, then back to the road. He floored the gas and covered the last short distance to the highway in just minutes.

For nearly a twenty minutes at a brisk pace they slowly worked they way up behind where the signal of the GPS unit was reported to be. Ray's stomach was in knots the entire time. He knew he couldn't contact anybody without being caught. All he could hope was that the hedgehogs had seen his message and were aware they were being followed. Shortly before the outer city limit Espio's voice came over the radio.

_"Vector, I see them. They're about a quarter mile ahead of me just past the outer city limit."_

"Hold your position. I don't want them to know we're here."

_"Where are you?"_

"I'm about a mile behind you. I'll pick up the pace and try to catch up."

_"Copy that. I'll hold my position until they make their next move. Out."_

"Roger that..." Vector put his radio mic down and accelerated, his hands clenching onto the wheel. "You go ahead and make your move, Manic... I _will_ be waiting for you."

Ray swallowed nervously. _"I've got to do something!... Think, Ray!... **THINK!**..."_

* * *

**THE CHASE IS ON**


	28. The Last Car

**Author's Notes**:

If it means anything to my readers I am sorry about the huge delay in updating. Long story short, the combination of starting my internship, personal matters, and a month long case of writer's block kept me from updating.

Even so, my plan is to start speeding things up a little bit with this story. It's going on two and half years of production and while I still like the story a lot, it's time to start other ideas. Some of you (you know who you are) I've shared my ideas with so you know what you have to look forward to. More importantly, I want to move onto those and get them started before college starts in the fall.

That being said, I decided to cut this chapter a bit short. I was tired of looking at it and making you wait for an update. It's far from my best work but I just couldn't do anything more with it.

The next chapter will be better and will address an event I know a lot of people have been waiting for. Those who have seen the movie know what I'm talking about. The rest of you will most likely figure it out by the end of the chapter.

And if anybody wishes to, you can look up a picture of the most important car of this story: **2008 Saleen Mustang S302E Sterling Edition**

That's all I have to say for now. As always, all criticisms/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 28** - The Last Car

"So what's your plan once we get into the city?"

It was the first time Sonic had spoken directly to Manic since leaving the suburbs with Vector's SUV. Until now the only break in the silence had been a few quick messages through the communicators from the others, some of which Sonic responded to.

"Easy. You drop me off to get the Eleanor, you head back, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"It's too out of the way and given how things are going now I'm not risking both of us going there."

"Still pissed, huh?"

"You just _had_ to bring guns into this."

"Well hey, it worked didn't it?"

"Did it?"

"Well yeah. I mean, we got away and that's all that matters."

"Oh sure, that's all that matters. Never mind that you shot at a detective that just so happens to know about everything we're doing. Yeah, that doesn't matter at all."

"I said I didn't mean to do that."

"Well, guess what. Ya did. My guess is that now they'll be on us like flies on shit."

"You never know, maybe they'll back off a bit after that."

"I doubt that."

"Why do you doubt that?"

"Because Espio's on our tail."

Sonic had only just noticed that black and green motorcycle back a ways from them, but he knew who it was without even thinking about it. Manic looked into his mirror too and saw that they weren't alone.

"Dammit!"

"I told you they'd be after us."

"How the hell did they find us so fast? Nobody followed us to the highway."

"You're the expert in tracking devices. You tell me."

"I don't know. I mean, I went all over the thing and found no real tricky security systems. Unless... _unless_ there's one hidden somewhere you'd never think to look."

"You did say it was easy to get into this thing, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, too easy... SHIT! How could I have fallen for something like that!"

"Seems like your way isn't working out too well, is it?"

"Not now, dude. There's more important things to worry about right now."

Once again things went silent in the SUV, but this time is was a nervous silence. There were so many unknowns that it was almost impossible to make a move. For all they knew, a dozen officers could be waiting for them at every highway exit, a police helicopter might be tracking them from miles away, or the S-Team might have been dispatched and was closing in on them. At that point, any scenario they could think of was fair game.

Somewhat instinctively Manic moved closer to the giant gold pistol laying beside him. "We're gonna have to do something."

"Yeah, no kidding. Got any ideas?"

"I think so. Look."

Manic pointed to a road sign. It indicated that off of the upcoming exit was a station for the Elerail train system. "I'm thinking if we can't outrun them, then we outsmart them."

"By us getting on a train?"

"No. By me getting on a train."

"Un-uhh. Not gonna happen."

"You just said two minutes ago it's too dangerous to stay together. Now you're saying to stick together. Make up your mind, dude."

"I'm thinking it's time we stop doing things your way and go back to my way."

"Your way? In the middle of a sticky situation like this?"

"You do know who you're talking to, right?"

"Yeah, I know you've been in tight situations before, but have any of them involved criminal activity?"

Looking up ahead the exit was coming fast. For the first time in a while Sonic had to agree with his brother's opinion just a little. Manic had much more experience when it came to a life of crime so if anybody knew how to get out of a situation like the one they were in, it was him. At the last moment Sonic turned hard right and got onto the exit ramp.

Behind them Espio had seen them leave the highway and followed suit. "Vector, they're getting off the highway at the exit thirteen."

_"Roger that. Stay on them. I'll be there shortly."_

"10-4."

Once off of the freeway Espio caught sight of the black SUV down the road. Keeping his distance the detective followed them for a short distance until they arrived at the Elerail station.

"They're pulling into a station for the Elerail. I'm thinking they're going to abandon the SUV and try to get onto a train."

_"Don't let them get away, do you understand me? Do not let them get away!"_

"I will not fail. I will get redemption for the attempt on my life."

_"Whatever, just don't let them escape!"_

"Affirmative."

Pulling into the parking lot Sonic parked on the far side of the lot where there was the most cover. "Okay bro, what's the plan?"

"Since we don't know where this thing is rigged we gotta ditch it. What I'm thinking we do is split up. Since you can run like its nobody's business you run ahead and go find another Escalade somewhere in town. There's plenty of them, so you shouldn't have much trouble. Meanwhile I'm gonna give the pigs the slip in the train station and stow away on a train and ride it to the terminal down by Emerald Coast. I'll get Eleanor and meet you back at the drop off."

"I don't have a problem with the part about me running. I'm not so sure about your part. Why not just teleport to the hotel?"

"Because at this hour there's way too many people around. If I do that then all eyes will be on me. We've got to resort to simpler tactics now, which is exactly what I'm gonna do here."

"What does that entail? I know the station is crowded this time of morning, but it's not gonna be as easy as you think to do something to cover an escape."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Sonic noticed the pistol in Manic's hand, but was cut off before he could answer. "This is coming with me."

"Ordinarily I'd ask if you were kidding, but knowing you you're not."

"You got that right."

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit."

"Neither do I, dude. But there's a lot at stake here. Remember what we said. It's time to get crazy."

Manic crawled his way back to the rear of the SUV and pulled a large duffel bag out of the back. He packed the shotgun and assault rifle in them and tucked the pistol into his fanny pack.

"I'm taking these to keep up the act. I need Espio to believe that I'm up to what he thinks I'm up to."

Manic then pulled up the schedules for the Elerail on his communicator to see which train would be the best for him to get. Somehow Sonic had a feeling that this was not going to end well. Scanning the lot he spotted Espio pulling into the lot and start slowly investigating each row of cars.

"He's here."

"Sweet. Time to move."

"Manic, wait... I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I don't either. But we've come too damn far to get caught now. I'm not going down until this job is done."

Manic took a quick peek out to see where Espio was. "I'll make sure he sees me. As soon as he's onto me you run for it. You ready?"

"...Yeah."

"Alright. I'll see ya back at the drop off with Eleanor. I'll be coming fast, so be ready. We'll probably have to stay low for a little while afterwords."

"Alright..."

"Good. See ya later."

Manic dashed from the SUV and made his was through the lot towards the station. Peering over Sonic saw Espio come to a stop and stare at something. He knew all too well what it was.

"Vector, I see Manic. He's headed for the train station as I predicted."

_"Do you see any accomplices or the vehicle?"_

"Negative on accomplices, but I believe the vehicle is on the farthest side of the lot."

_"Okay. I'll be there in a minute or two. I'll have Ray check out the SUV. You just keep a tail on Manic and I'll catch up with you and bring that little prick down."_

"10-4. I'm moving in."

Using the environment around him Manic looked into the reflections of car windows to see what was behind him. He could see Espio park his motorcycle and stealthily start following him.

_"That's right, Espio. Come and get me..." Manic thought to himself. "Bro, if you're gonna go, now's the time,"_

Every part of Sonic said that leaving now wasn't a good idea, but experience as a Freedom Fighter told him that they had a plan and his actions would determine the outcome. With Manic almost into the station now and Espio about a hundred feet behind Sonic felt it was safe to leave. Quietly getting out of the vehicle Sonic started to trek into the tall grass that ran adjacent to the lot and rail lines. He felt he could use that to cover his escape until he was far enough away and then could run full blast to the city.

Yet as he was crossing the field something still didn't feel right. Turing around he found out why. Ducking into the tall grass he watched as a familiar black BMW parked down at the end of the row where the Escalade was parked. He watched as both Vector and Ray emerged from the car.

"Oh shit..."

Sonic was baffled as to how Vector had gotten his tires re-inflated so fast, but there was no denying he was here now. He watched as the two of them cautiously approached the SUV. After making a quick observation Vector approached and opened a door, yelling for anybody inside to surrender. When nobody responded he climbed inside and determined it was empty. He then said something to Ray and spoke over a radio, through what he said to either was impossible to hear from this distance.

As Vector began to walk away and towards the station Sonic's heart sped up. Somehow Vector knew what was going on and was surely going in to try and catch Manic. For a moment he considered trying to stop Vector now, but before he could do so his communicator beeped. It was ray trying to reach him on intercom.

_"Sonic?"_

"Yeah, I'm here."

_"W-w-w-where are you?"_

"Right behind you in the middle of the field. Is it safe to come to you?"

_"I th-th-think so."_

A a moment later Sonic emerged from the grass and joined Ray beside the SUV. The yellow squirrel was a nervous wreck. "I t-t-t-t-tried to contact you!"

"When?"

"I sent you a m-m-m-m-message to say Vector was coming!"

"Oh... We didn't see it."

"What are we gonna do?"

"I'm not sure. Manic's in the middle of some mondo-risky plan right now that I don't know too much about. I'm supposed to be running for the city right now to find another SUV like this one. We can't take this because we think Vector has some sort of tracker bug on it."

"He does. I know where it is."

"Really? How hard is it to get to?"

Without saying anything Ray got down and slid himself under the SUV. Pushing himself under the center of the vehicle his eyes strained in the dark to spot the beacon. He detected the slightest of pulsing light back by the gas tank. Reaching up into a tight corner of the undercarriage he could feel something that felt out of place.

"I think I've got it."

With a slight yank he pulled down a small black box with a small pulsing light. It didn't have any wires connected to it so it must have had some sort of internal power source. Sliding back out from under the SUV Ray handed the device to Sonic.

"I think that's it."

"I'm pretty sure it is. Never would have thought to look underneath the damn thing."

"Yeah. Vector was telling me about it on our way over here. Oh c-c-c-crap! Vector! He was going in to help Espio catch Manic!"

"Then we've got to tell Manic to get out and get back here," Sonic answered, dialing in his communicator. "With this bug gone we can take this thing now. Hopefully Manic will be able to sneak back out without being-"

What sounded like a muffled explosion stopped Sonic's sentence dead in its tracks. His head whipped up towards the station, looking for a clue as to what it could have been. Ray also spun, around, trembling and stuttering in fear.

"Wh-wh-what was that!"

Another loud bang made Sonic's ears twitch. Sonic recognized the blasts as the firing of the Desert Eagle pistol Manic had with him. At about the same time a crescendo of panicked screams erupted as people poured out of the station and into the lot.

"What's g-g-g-g-going on!"

"Damn you, Manic..."

"What! What is he doing!"

Sonic's eyebrows arched in anger. "He's pissing me off."

"Aren't you going to stop him!"

"...No."

"No!"

"I can't take any more of his stupidity. Manic said this is how he wanted to do it so he's gonna get what he wants. I'm going to stick to my plans and do what I have to do."

"What if he gets killed!"

"He won't."

"How do you know!"

"Because Manic knows how to keep himself alive. And he's got lots of guns to help him out."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take this SUV to the drop off," Sonic stated, getting into the Escalade. "Manic can take care of the rest himself."

"You mean... Vector's Mustang?"

Sonic nodded as he started the now-safe-to-steal SUV. "Can I count on you to cover for me?"

"Of course. I'm on your side."

"Thanks. I'll see ya, probably sooner than later."

"Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think Vector will be looking for Manic there?"

"Probably."

"Doesn't that concern you?"

"Honestly... I don't know, Ray. I really don't know anymore."

Sonic pulled out quickly from the spot and accelerated across the parking lot. Ray watched the SUV as long as he could, making sure that Sonic got away. Looking back to the train station a wave of people were sprinting across the parking lot at him. He could pick out Vector in the crowd as he shouted for people to run and waved them where to go. Suddenly Espio ran from the station and approached Vector. Ray could see his leader point in his direction and Espio began running towards him.

_"Oh crap! Come on, Ray! THINK! THINK! THINK!"_

The answer was in his hands. Ray threw the transponder on the ground, causing significant damage. A few stomps of his foot later and the device was more or less destroyed. Yet somehow Ray didn't think this was enough. He wanted to make it look like he'd been attacked. Looking over there was a light pole behind the empty space which was bedded in a concrete base. Although every fiber of his being told him not to do so, Ray ran and threw himself into the concrete as hard as he could. Apparently Ray was stronger than he knew as the hit on his back knocked the wind out of him a little and his head ended up banging into the light pole, causing some dizziness.

Only about ten seconds later Espio reached him, noticing right away that the SUV was gone and the remains of the tracking unit lay on the ground. Seeing his comrade on the ground he rushed to his partner's aid. "Ray! What happened! Are you alright!"

"I... I didn''t... Somebody was... They escaped..." Ray answered, trying to recover from getting the wind knocked out of him.

"Dammit! Vector, you better get over here!"

Inside Ray's heart raced at having realized that Espio bought the ruse. Not wanting to give this away he followed Espio's instructions to not move to much and try to relax. A few minutes later additional S.S.P.D. units showed up, allowing Vector to come to the aid of his teammate.

"Ray! Are you alright?"

"I'm a little busted up... Got a good bump to my noggin and back, but I'm okay."

"What happened?"

"I... I'm not too sure. I was inspecting the Caddy like you said. All of a sudden I saw some stuff on the ground and saw it was the tracking unit. I picked it up right about the same time I heard gunshots. I was gonna come and help, but before I could somebody grabbed me from behind and threw me into this light pole."

"Did you see whoever it was?"

"No... But I did hear whoever it was put the tracker by the back wheel and run it over."

"Dammit!... DAMMIT! Manic had this planned all out! He goes in and raises hell allowing for his cohort to escape with my wheels while Manic gets away too!"

"It seems he's bested us again," Espio said disappointingly.

"Not to mention he's added a whole list of other crimes to his spree today."

"What did he do in there?" Ray asked, as per Sonic's instructions.

"Well, he didn't exactly shoot at anybody in particular. In fact, I don't think any of his shots ever came anywhere near a person now that I think about it. He was shooting out the security systems, though."

"He also took out the mainframe for the system, so that means there's no video evidence of what he did," Espio added.

"He most likely wanted to cause a panic in the station that would cover his escape and also create obstacles that would keep us from catching him. But even if he didn't shoot at anybody it doesn't excuse what he did."

"How did he escape, Vector?"

"It's hard to say since we didn't exactly see him escape. However, a few guards said they saw him running for the station area. He was most likely getting onto one of the trains to get into town as quick as possible."

"And I know for a fact that one of the trains that went through the station during this ordeal was an express train than runs from one end of the line to the other without stopping. It only slows down when going through stations for safety reasons."

"Do you think Manic got onto that train?"

"My guess is yes. Knowing Manic he would want to get out of here as quick as possible. But as I said, we have no idea if that's true or not."

"Do you suppose we could negotiate the railroad stopping all trains and conducting a search?" Espio asked.

"No... There must be something we can do, though."

Ray knew that with Manic being on his own he had to do something to give both hedgehogs as much of an advantage as he could. Ray suspected that Vector was starting to take Manic's actions personally. That meant that if he could somehow guarantee that his boss could catch Manic single-handed then he might just go for it. That would help keep the heat off of Sonic and keep the attention on Manic to a minimal.

"I have an idea!"

"I'm all ears, Ray. Let's hear it."

"I think the best thing to do is to let Manic believe he's going to get away with what he's doing."

"And how to you propose we do that?" Espio inquired.

"We let Manic get to town without any interference."

"Impossible. Not after what's just occurred here."

"Let him speak, Espio."

"As I was saying, we let him get to town without anybody interfering. He gets to the end of the line and thinks he's in the clear. He goes for Vector's Mustang not knowing we're waiting for him. He goes for the car, we bust him, and solve the case!"

There was a moment of silence as the two detectives seriously considered the idea. "I must confess that's not a half-bad idea. However... that express train will arrive at the city long before we could given the lead it has on us already. Even if we drove at full speed we won't make it in time. And that's not taking into consideration the traffic at this time of the morning, and we all know how severe it can be."

"Oh..." Ray said, suddenly fearing his plans were foiled before they started.

"That's not true, Espio. We've still got an ace up our sleeve. As you know my car is always parked in that garage for storage purposes. I keep it there because the hotel has a whole bunch or services it'll do for your car when you keep it there. And one of them is going to buy us the time we need."

"What's that?" Espio asked.

"In the event that your not going to drive your car for a while, a garage staff member will drive your car for you to keep the battery charged and move the fluids around. My thought is that this will buy us some time and allow us to get to town."

"Vector, I ask permission to speak."

"No need to ask at this point, Espio. I'm listening."

"This doesn't sound like a good plan to me. It feels rushed and under-prepared. Would could easily have the S.S.P.D. lie and wait for Manic and catch him for us. I feel as though if we proceed with this plan we are going to cut ourselves short and Manic will escape. In fact, we could evne just have the car moved so we'd know it would be safe."

"I understand what you're saying, Espio. But at this point I want another shot at apprehending Manic myself and we need some bait, in this case the car, to lure him in. Remember, that bastard was at my house and in my opinion that put my family in danger. Nobody does that and gets away with it in my mind. That's why we're going to stick to the current plan. I promise you that the moment I feel this plan isn't going to work I'll contact the S.S.P.D. and have them put out an A.P.B. on Manic and anybody else that we've associated with this case, innocent or not. But I need to know that I at least tried to do something myself to stop that little prick. Do you understand?"

"...Yes..." the chameleon answered half-heartedly.

"Alright. We know what needs to be done. As Sonic always said, let's do it to it."

Everybody understood the plan. A few quick instructions from Vector required Espio to speed ahead on his motorcycle to assure their current plan's success. With Espio on his way Vector and Ray pulled around to the station just to make sure the situation was stable and that no search parties would be sent after Manic.

Ray couldn't deny that this whole situation had him freaked out, but on the other hand he couldn't help but feel somewhat accomplished. After all, he was just as involved with the current operation as much as the others and for the first time in a while he was helping them. He only wished that it hadn't come to him doing something that may lead to something horrible happening to Sonic's brother.

* * *

Back at the drop off Sonic had arrived with the Escalade. He knew that with this delivery the car count stood at 99, leaving only "Eleanor." Looking around there was the normal crew that had been in and out of the warehouse throughout the night as well as Snively. However, Sonic did spot one familiar face coming towards him.

"What are you doing here, Sonia? And where's everybody else?"

"Sally decided the best thing for us to do was go into hiding. But I couldn't stop thinking about Manic the whole time so I hoped I'd catch you to hear what happened."

"...Yeah..."

Sonia's eyes got a little wider. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"More like it still is."

"Oh God... I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Let's just say that things got complicated at Vector's and we had to do some pretty crazy shit to get out of there."

"Complicated how?"

Sonic took a deep breath before answering. "...Vector knows everything. Espio found out about everything from Manic's place and told Vector."

"You're, like... not kidding are you?"

"Why would I make something like that up?"

"So Vector knows that we've all been stealing cars?"

"Not exactly. He suspects a few people, like Rouge and Shadow, maybe one or two others. But right now he knows for sure Manic is involved."

"How?"

"Because Manic wanted him to. So, in short, he let it be known what he was up to."

"WHAT! Why did he do that!"

"Because he knew that if all the heat was on him, then it would draw the attention away from the rest of us."

"It's a noble idea, but it's also stupid! Who knows how the hell this is going to end up for him now!"

"Quite frankly Sonia, I don't know either. And to tell you the truth... I don't think there's anything we can do about it."

"How can you say that! You sound like you're just giving up on him!"

"I know... It's just, after this past night I don't know how to help him anymore. I can't get inside his way of thinking and figure him out. We both have such different ways of going about life. And at this point we've become who we're gonna be for the rest of our lives, and my life as a hero... I don't think it'll ever allow us to see eye to eye. I don't even know who I am anymore after everything I've done in the past few days."

Sonia sighed deeply and embraced her brother. "This has been one of the longest nights of my life, Sonic... and one of the worst. To think after everything we've been through it came to this... I just want to get on with my life. I want to enjoy my time with you and Manic and all of our friends. I want to stop fighting and just be a normal person... But..." she started, pulling away so she could look Sonic in the eyes. "I can't say the same for you, Sonic... You are the hero. You're the kind that always fights not because you have to, but because you want to. It's in you to fight for your cause, whatever it is. And so long as there's a cause you see is worth fighting for, you'll be there to help it any way you can. And right now there's a cause that needs to be fought, but only you can decide if it's worth fighting for. Don't let your actions prevent you from seeing that."

In a rare display of affection, Sonic planted a small peck on his sister's cheek. "You know something, you should give up the fashion biz and become a writer."

"A fashion magazine writer, perhaps."

"Oh sis..."

"Oh _what_?"

"Forget it. It doesn't matter right now. Nothing does except for one thing. We all agreed to get into this mess for one reason. If it means we can finish what we thought was finished six years ago, then I say it's worth fighting for. And if there's one thing I've learned it's that the only thing better than fighting for a cause by yourself, it's having a partner to do it."

The two hedgehogs nodded. They understood each other. In a flash of pink and blue Sonic were off to their destinations. On the far side of the warehouse Snively had seen and slightly overheard the hedgehogs. Although it was against his better judgment, he decided to call Robotnik.

_"... What is it, Snively?"_

"Sir, the count is 99. And it appears the final delivery will be made well before the deadline, which is about-"

_"I know what time it is, dear nephew. What's your concern?"_

"Well, sir... you mentioned a Plan C was going to take effect, but I've yet to see it. If it's going to happen, well... wouldn't now be a good time?"

_"Of course it would. And it's funny you mention that. Plan C will be occurring very, very soon. In fact, you might say that Plan C has relied upon the last car. I'll leave it at that for now."_

"I understand sir."

_"Good."_

Hanging up the phone Snively's interest was piqued. _"I must admit I'm intrigued. I just hope the fat bastard actually came up with a decent plan, for once."_

* * *

On the streets of Station Square Espio was fighting his was through the morning rush hour traffic. Even by taking alleyways and lane splitting it was still slow going. But Espio knew he was getting close to the shore resorts area and, more importantly, Vector's Mustang and Manic's target.

"Vector, I'm about ten minutes away from the hotel. I'm taking every shortcut I can but it's not easy getting through."

_"I hear you. I know a few shortcuts I can take that'll hopefully get me there in about fifteen minutes."_

"Wow. You made up a lot of time."

_"True, but it won't matter if we don't get to that garage ASAP."_

"Copy that. I'll do everything I can to get to the hotel."

_"As will I. I'll see you there."_

Seeing an opening in the traffic Espio gunned his motorcycle's throttle and blasted down the street. As he accelerated he made an incredible discovery up ahead. About a hundred feet down the road he spotted Vector's Mustang. Judging by the direction of travel and speed it was traveling he could tell it was still on its test drive by the hotel staff. This made Espio want to drive even faster to catch the vehicle. This was not to be the case as Espio become blocked at an intersection where a traffic jam had formed due to a malfunctioning traffic light. Inside his helmet Espio swore could only watch as the car pulling away.

"I will not fail again!"

Espio rode up onto the curb, blasting the bike's horn to get the crowds of people out of the way. Once past the intersection he did his best to keep sight of the silver Mustang ahead of him. Staying with it was the only true way to guarantee he'd beat Manic to it.

* * *

Sonic checked the time. It was just before ten of seven. From atop the Emerald Coast Resort Hotel he had the perfect view of the train terminal and the roads running into the hotel, including the one leading to the garage where "Eleanor" was waiting.

_"He'll be here soon,"_ he thought to himself.

A quick check on his communicator revealed that the next express train was going to leave at precisely 7:00 A.M. Since the train had not yet arrived this was an indicator that it was probably very close or, in a worst case scenario, was running late. Sonic also knew that Espio and/or Vector were bound to show up soon are were either going to catch Manic in the act or get there right before he did to keep him from stealing the car.

Not far away Sonic heard an Elerail train toot its horn. He guessed it was probably going through the last station before the terminal and would be there in mere minutes. Sure enough, the train arrived shortly thereafter. As it entered a glass-enclosed tunnel that lead into the terminal Sonic could see his brother jump from the rear of the train and out onto the tracks. How he accomplished this without drawing any attention to himself Sonic had no idea. With the duffel bag still strapped to his back Manic worked his way down one of the trussed supports that held up the bridge that lead to the tunnel. Once on the ground he went right for the side of the hotel, perhaps to break in through a side ventilation duct or security door.

With a few quick leaps sonic hopped from rooftop to rooftop and down to the ground. He spotted a security door that had been suspiciously left open.

"Let's see what's behind door number one."

Sonic could hear footsteps down the staircase. "Ready or not, here I come bro."

* * *

Manic had finished picking the lock at the bottom of the staircase and was into the garage. His instincts guided him right to where the Mustang should be. There was one problem, however.

"What the? Where the fuck is it!"

Manic was furious. He'd risked a lot to make his plan work the way it had so far, and now just a few strides away from the end the last car was nowhere to be found. Knowing that Vector was the owner and that he didn't drive it very often was all the more frustrating. It made no sense why the car wasn't there.

"6:54... I'll give it until 7. If it doesn't get here by then I'm gonna have to do something."

"Why wait?"

Manic jumped straight into the air, landing in a fighting stance. He found himself facing his brother with his signature smirk on his face.

"Hey bro... Sup?"

"Sonic? Damn dude, you nearly gave me a heart attack!... Wait a sec. What you're doing here?"

"Doing the same thing you're doing. Getting Eleanor to finish this job off and give Robuttnik what he has coming to him."

"I thought we agreed to leave that to me."

"That was then. This is now."

"What are you talking about?... Ohh, I know where you're going with this!" Manic half-shouted, his tone growing angry.

"You do? You check your crystal ball or something?"

"Shut up! You're here because you're pissed at me for what I did at the train station! Well let me tell you something, buster! Everything I did was textbook! I wore a ski mask I had with me, I disabled all the security systems with the hand-cannon I have, and I got away without anybody getting hurt!"

"You think you could say that a little louder?"

"You know, if you're going to ridicule me then just get it over with! I bet I can predict half the things you're about to say!"

"None of that crap matters."

"You see! I told you! I just knew that- WHAT!"

"You heard me. That doesn't matter."

"...Who are you?"

"Cut the crap, Manic. It's me. You know it."

"Maybe I do, but I don't believe it. You're gonna hafta try harder to convince me."

"Look, I'm still pissed at what you did. But that doesn't matter, nor does how I feel about it. What does matter is this. There's just one more car standing between us and finishing this damn job. The sooner we deliver it, the sooner we get that burden off of our shoulders. The moment we do I swear we're gonna take Robouttnik down before he knew what hit him. And _that_ bro is all that matters."

"Wow... Huh... What's changed? I expected you to tear me a new one, instead I get a motivational speech."

"You can thank our sister for that. She helped me shake some of the bad feelings I've had. She helped me figure out what's priority one right now. And priority one is simple: Get Eleanor and get her to Robuttnik."

"I agree. But there's just one problem. She ain't here."

"Say _what!_"

"I'm not kidding. Take a look," Manic said as he pointed over his shoulder.

"Oh what the!... _Vector_. Has to be. He probably called ahead and had it moved somewhere."

"Yeah, probably somewhere that's too hot for us to go."

"And we've got only just over an hour left."

"Got any ideas?"

"Uhh... Pray that for once something actually goes right and Eleanor just shows up?"

"Heh. That'll be the day."

On cue they could head a powerful engine approaching at the far end of the garage. The two took cover amongst the automobiles. They had a good feeling they knew what car it was and their hunches were confirmed when they saw the nose of the car come through the entrance of the garage.

"Are you psychic, dude?"

"Either that or I'm just insanely lucky."

"Whatever. All I know is we're not going to miss this opportunity. I know just what to do."

"If this even remotely involves guns-"

"Nope. In fact, hold onto these for me. I'm going in."

Before Sonic could get in a word Manic slid the bag from his back and stealthily zipped between the cars in the garage. Sonic watched as his brother followed the silver car like a predator tracking its pray. For a moment he thought he was going to somehow outright take the car. Instead, he waited until the coast was clear and made his way down to the elevator and hid behind a support pillar.

From his own position Sonic watched as the human driver walked down the garage towards the elevator, the Mustang's keys sticking out of his back pocket. While waiting for the elevator to arrive Manic emerged from his hiding place and pick-pocketed the keys from the hotel employee. The employee got into the elevator without a single clue about what had happened.

As soon as the elevator doors had shut, Manic broke into an all-out sprint back towards Sonic. Knowing they'd only have a couple of minutes until the worker Sonic too made a bee-line for the Mustang, leaving the bag of guns behind. He'd just remembered that a few days ago Vector said the car has a tacker unit. With a hunch that Eleanor had one in the same place Sonic dove under the car, looking where the one had been found on the Escalade.

"What the hell are you doing? We got to go!"

"Hang on a sec... almost... ha!"

Sonic emerged with an identical tracker unit that had been found on the Cadillac. He tossed it to his brother. A quick inspection of the device revealed an switch. He didn't hesitate to turn it off.

"So that's how they found us so easily before," Manic commented, tucking the device into his fanny pack.

"Yup. And you can thank Ray for that. He helped me find the one on the Escalade so I was able to deliver that one."

"Coolness. We'll thank him later... Hey, where's the guns?"

Manic looked over and saw the deserted duffel bag. He went to retrieve then, but Sonic came up from behind him and lcoked his arms, preventing ihs brother from getting them.

"What the hell are you doing!"

"Enough is enough, Manic! It's time to get sensible and just do what has to be done!"

"Let me go! I'm not going to just give up to you!"

"Why do you always make things so difficult!"

"Because he's a criminal."

Both hedgehog's heads snapped up. There in front of them was Espio, standing with his arms crossed and a barely visible smirk through the chameleon's full-face helmet."Didn't even hear ya coming, Espio," Sonic said calmly.

"I parked outside. Coming in here would have been an easy giveaway. But I must say you're timing is impeccable. Of course, I wouldn't have expected anything less from you. Only now do I understand why you were acting so suspiciously all week. You knew all along about you're brother's plans and was just waiting to strike. Vector will be pleased to hear about this."

"You really are a pain in the ass, you know that Espio! Manic snapped.

"Tell me, Manic," the detective answered without acknowledging the insult. "How does it felt to have been caught by your own brother?"

"Caught? I'm nowhere near caught!"

"Hmph. We'll see about that. Vector, do you read me?"

_"Loud and clear."_

"You will never believe this, but Sonic is here. He caught his brother in the act."

_"Are you serious! That's awesome! That's better than me catching him!"_

"What do you want me to do?"

_"Just hang tight and don't let Manic go anywhere! I'm about a minute away!"_

"Will do."_  
_

"**THE TRAIN HEADED FOR THE MYSTIC RUINS WILL BE DEPARTING SOON."**

Espio didn't realize that the hedgehogs could hear everything that was said. They both realized their current situation. It was 6:59, as the announcement of the train always came at one minute before departure. That meant they had less than a minute to escape from Espio, get Eleanor, and then somehow avoid Vector on the way out.

From somewhere deep in the back of Sonic's brain came a a form of thinking he'd relied upon time and time again during the war with Robotnik. It was the type of thinking were in a split second he could map out an entire sequence of events and how he thought he could deal with each of them, as well as what he would do if a plan failed.

It was all going to start right then and there. "Hey Manic... can I tell you something?"

"What?"

"I'm an excellent driver."

"Yeah, right! This coming from somebody that needed driving lessons!"

"About that... Remember how I told you I couldn't drive stick and you gave me some lessons? Well... I knew how to all along."

"Ooooookaaaaaay... Point being?"

"I just use that line so I can get to drive some bitchin' sets of wheels on Mobious. I've got a lot more experience behind the wheel than you know about. You follow?"

For a second, Manic looked up at his brother in utter confusion. However, a quick, subtle wink told Manic everything he needed to know. "Uhh, I guess so."

"Sonic? May I interrupt?" Espio asked.

"Sup?"

"This seems to be an odd time to admit such a thing. I just have to ask... Why did you say that just now?"

"To ease the shock."

"Of what?"

"This."

In the blink of an eye Sonic pulled his brother to his feet and gave him a shove in the direction of the Mustang, away from the duffel bag of guns. "Go, Manic! GO!"

Espio was frozen in shock at Sonic's sudden actions. "SONIC, WHAT ARE YOU!-"

When Sonic's head whipped around Espio saw a look in his eye that made shivers run down his spine. It was the same type of look that Sonic usually gave a foe when he was about to charge. Espio tried to take up a defense, but faced with the fastest thing alive any action was futile. Before he could do much to defend himself Sonic charged Espio in a blue blur and created a whirlwind around the chameleon by circling him as fast as he could.

Espio was lifted off of his feet by the vortex, totally unable to defend himself. Then, despite everything happening in an instant, the phenomenon of reality slowing down when in danger allowed Espio to catch a glimpse of Sonic spinning into a tight ball and firing at him like a bullet. The impact sent Espio flying across the garage and he collided hard with a support pillar.

The world was spinning around in the detective's vision, but he could see Sonic standing and staring at him. Through the throbbing in his head Espio heard the Mustang start and come towards them. To his horror he saw it stop next to Sonic and Manic jumped over to the passenger seat as Sonic opened the driver's door to get in. Before he did he looked back once more.

"I'm sorry I had to do that, Espio. I know this makes no sense at all right now, but we're not the enemy. Trust me."

Espio hoped his eyes were deceiving him, but he couldn't deny as Sonic sat down in the Mustang and sped towards the far end of the garage for the exit ramp. Having taken such a hard hit Espio didn't have a chance of catching them.

_"Espio, I'm around the corner! I'll be right-"_

Hearing Vector's voice gave Espio an adrenaline boost to fight off the pain and function. "VECTOR, IT'S A DOUBLE-CROSS! BLOCK THE GARAGE EXIT NOW!"

* * *

Vector's car was just in front of the S.S. Central Station, about a hundred feet in front of the garage entrance and closing fast. Espio's message had come over so loud the audio was garbled and over-driven.

"Espio, repeat!"

_"BLOCK THE EXIT NOW!"_

"LOOK OUT!" Ray cried from the passenger seat.

It was too late. Only about three car lengths from the entrance Vector caught a glimpse of his Mustang come speeding up out of the garage, the front wheels leaving the ground slightly. Both cars slammed on the brakes, causing the rubber to squeal and smoke in protest of such a hard stop. The two cars stopped with only a few feet between them.

_"VECTOR, WHAT HAPPENED!"_ Espio shouted again, having heard the near accident from inside the garage.

The statement made Vector shake off the fact that he'd nearly gotten into a head-on collision. Looking up he had a clear view into the car in front of him. His eyes instantly averted to Manic, but he noticed he was in the passenger seat. When he looked over Vector's entire body felt like it had been electrocuted as every nerve lit up with shock.

He was looking straight into the green eyes of Sonic sitting behind the wheel of his own car wearing the very Saleen jacket he'd given to him just a short time ago. Like Espio, Vector wanted to deny it, but he couldn't. It really was Sonic. With the shock being so overpowering all he could do was stare at the hedgehog with his mouth slightly agape and eyes wide open.

Ray too was staring in shock. He hadn't expected to see Sonic again so soon, especially not together with Manic in the last car to be stolen. He hoped that Sonic would look to him as a signal of what was happening, but this was not to be so.

Although it seemed as though the two driver's had sat there for an eternity it was really only a few seconds. It only took those few seconds for Vector to realize that he'd been hoodwinked not once but twice this week. Even without knowing any details Vector knew what was going on. There was simply no logical reason that Sonic would be inside a car that didn't belong to him with Manic, whom it was already confirmed was in on the whole plot. The only reason he could be there was that he too was in on the operation and had been lying all week.

"FREEZE!"

Espio's echoing from the entrance of the garage made the hedgehog's heads whip around. Vector acted upon the distraction and bolted from his BMW towards the Mustang. Sonic saw him coming and nailed the throttle while twisting the wheel to the left. Vector tried to dive for the rear of the car but couldn't get a grip and slid off the back and onto the ground. He watched as his car jumped the edge of the curb in front of the train station and started towards the only road out of the cul-de-sac.

"Vector, come on! Get up!"

Espio grabbed the arm of his boss, trying to help him up. The reptile responded by wrenching his arm free and jumping to his feet unassisted. He watched as the car swung around the corner and out of sight. Looking down he spied the duffel bag in Espio's hands. Without asking he snatched it away. He could feel that they were his weapons.

"Get on your bike and let's go," in an eerily enraged yet calm tone.

Espio didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted for his motorcycle which was parked by a triangular island in the middle of the cul-de-sac with a sign for the hotel. At the same time Vector sprinted for his own vehicle. He threw the bag of guns into the backseat and slid into the driver's seat.

"Buckle up," Vector stated plainly.

Ray did as he was told as Vector set his removable police light on his dashboard. Pulling on his own belt Vector's hands clamped onto the wheel and threw the car into reverse. The tires squealed and smoked as they started backwards. Once there was enough room Vector pulled the wheel hard to the left to force it to spin, then pulled back in the other direction in a perfect reverse 180 turn. Now headed in the same direction it would not take long to catch up to the hedgehog's since there was only one main route out.

Behind them Espio had caught up on his motorcycle. _"Vector, I'm sorry! I didn't know Sonic was-"_

"Never mind that. All that matters is that we stop them."

_"Yes sir."_

Vector flicked a switch on his police radio that engaged him with the entire police band. He had a feeling that he was going to be making a call on it very soon, but he just had to make sure. He was still set on apprehending Manic, and now Sonic, single-handed.

* * *

A few blocks away the hedgehog's weren't quite going all out to escape. At seven in the morning they were experiencing the infamous Station Square morning rush hour. If it wasn't cars, it was public transit vehicles. If it wasn't public transit, it was people crossing the road. If it wasn't people, it was a plethora of other obstacles that kept them from making a quick getaway.

This was especially true for their current location as the resorts area of the city was notoriously small. Once they could make it out of there and make it into the city things would open up a bit more. The ultimate goal was to make it to either of the super highways where traffic was going to be the most manageable and where they would have the most chance to escape.

"I can't believe how bad this traffic is!"

"Maybe if you hadn't left the guns behind we could have used them to scare people off?"

"Don't start, Manic. This is already difficult enough to begin with. We don't need the added pressure of stolen guns... Dammit! I thought people headed to the resorts after the work day!" Sonic shouted in frustration.

"Work day? In this town! Most of these rich fucks haven't done a hard day's work in their life."

"I'll bet some of them made a buck doing shit like what we're doing, huh?"

"That's more of a guarantee, I think."

"Yeah, I hear y- WOAH!"

Sonic slammed on the brakes as the lights for the opposite direction of traffic had turned green and cars were pouring into the intersection. They decided to wait at the red light not only to not draw more attention to themselves, but also to let their hearts stop beating.

"Man... talk about déjà vu."

""You mean _that_, or behind us?"

Looking in the rear view Sonic spotted a pair of familiar vehicles. The detectives had caught up with them due to their tardy progress and were creeping their way up behind them before a red light stopped them a block away. Knowing that the inevitable was coming, Sonic turned to his brother.

"I think you know what this means, bro."

"Yup."

"You trust me?"

"Enough to pass for the situation."

"It's not too late, you know. You can use your emerald to teleport out in a second."

"N-G-H, dude."

"N-G-H?"

"Not gonna happen."

"Hmph... Same here."

Flashing each other a smirk the siblings pulled their seat belts on tight. Manic braced himself in his seat for what would be some very brisk acceleration. Sonic's foot hovered over the clutch pedal while one hand clenched the gear level and the other the steering wheel. Looking up they saw the traffic light for the opposite way turn yellow.

"Here we go..." Manic said excitedly.

"Yup... juice time."

* * *

Behind them Vector and Espio waited intently to see what their next move would be. Vector in particular was tense. A moment ago he'd activated the car's sport mode and fastest shifting capability to maximize performance. The detective was sure a chase was imminent and wanted to be ready for it. He saw the light up ahead turn red, meaning it would go green for them in just seconds.

"Alright, easy way or hard way Sonic... easy way or hard way..."

The filaments of the green light had barely begun to glow and the sliver Mustang lurched upward as it's brute acceleration went through the back wheels, spinning them violently and throwing up a plume of white smoke.

"Fine."

The detectives engaged their vehicle's lights and siren, then gunned their throttles. They were now in hot pursuit of two of the least likely people they ever thought they'd be chasing. What was also unlikely now was that apprehending them could be done without intervention. As they proceeded forward onto a wide boulevard leading to downtown Station Square Vector picked up his radio microphone. It was time to reach out for help.

"This is unit One-Baker-Eleven. I'm in hot pursuit of a code 487. The vehicle is a silver 2008 Saleen Mustang. Suspects are two males. Suspects are headed towards downtown via St. John Boulevard. Requesting all available unit to assist in apprehending the suspects. Out."

Dropping the mike Vector's hands clenched to the steering wheel. With a pull of the right paddle shifter the BMW shot up a gear. Vector stared straight ahead, his eyes glaring at the silver Mustang ahead of him. There was only one thing on his mind.

_"I will catch you two. And when I do... you'll be sorry."_


	29. City Escape

**Author's Notes**:

It's the first chapter of the big chase scene!

Sorry for the delay but I've been working like crazy on another story I want to start very soon. I also wanted to make this chapter as chock full of action as possible, and I think I've achieved that. Unlike most of my chapters that are dialog-heavy, this chapter is action-heavy.

Since reading action sequences can get tiresome I broke the chase scene into what I'm pretty sure will end up being three chapters. That's why this one is a bit shorter than my usual chapters. Don't worry though, I think you'll still enjoy this chapter just as much!

Lastly, this chapter is a tribute to the first mission of Sonic Adventure 2. If you've played the game and/or are observant you'll notice the multiple throwbacks I made to that level. And if you're _really _on your game you might pick up on the significance of some of the street names I used in this chapter.

Remember to tell me what you think! All criticisms/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged!

* * *

**Chapter 29** - **The Chase Part 1 - City Escape  
**

Station Square was the normal bustle that it was around 7 AM. The morning light was casting a yellow-orange upon the glistening glass of the many skyscrapers. The summer heat began to rise, creating a slightly muggy atmosphere from the previous night's rain. People were scrambling to get to work, public transit was running its morning express services, and automobiles flooded the streets. It was all quite ordinary, a repeat of the same process seem each day in the giant city.

**"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"**

The morning was broken by the blaring of sirens and growl of engines. Bustling towards an intersection Sonic blasted the horn of the Saleen Mustang, causing people about to go through the crosswalk to jump back as he sped by. Not far behind him Vector's M5 with sirens screaming and lights flashing followed in pursuit. Espio trailed on his borrowed Kawasaki, ready to follow the hedgehogs should they make a quick move and shake Vector.

The morning traffic made it difficult to both make any headway in escaping as well as not crashing. No sooner would anybody in the chase begin to accelerate or try to make a move and another vehicle would make them have to change their plans abruptly.

Behind the wheel Sonic's feet and hands were constantly at work. He practically needed three hands and feet to keep up with steering, driving, and shifting. He had to keep up his careful pattern of steering, moving the shift lever, and modulating all three pedals because one mistake could lead to them being caught, an accident, or worse.

Flying around another corner on an arterial boulevard in the heart of the city they were met with a thick wall of traffic about a mile and a half ahead. Manic checked his rear view mirror for Sonic. Despite the traffic they hadn't lost either or their pursuers.

"They're still back there, dude!"

"Yeah, I noticed! How the hell did they keep up?"

"Beats me! But obviously whatever we're doing isn't enough!"

"No, ya think!... I got an idea! Hang on!"

Before reaching a traffic jam at the intersection in front of them Sonic applied heavy brake and turned onto a smaller one-way road. The hope was that they could bypass the large, heavily-traveled roads and end up on some smaller, less crowded ones. It was also an attempt to catch Vector and Espio off guard.

The sudden move caught Vector off guard and he shot past the alleyway. "Dammit! Espio, stay with them!" the croc shouted into his radio microphone.

Vector watched as Espio made the turn into the alleyway behind them. _"I'm right on them!"_

"Good! I'll catch us ASAP!"

_"10-4!"_

Up ahead Vector toggled his siren to switch between tones to get the attention of the stopped drivers and get them to move. He had to slow significantly as he waited for the traffic to clear. The cars parted just enough for him to get through and make a hard right in the direction of the chase.

The one thing the detective couldn't help but notice just then was the lack of backup. It had been several minutes since the call had gone in and not a single law vehicle had shown up yet. Realizing now more than ever that backup would be helpful he researched for his radio mic.

"One Baker Eleven, I've lost track of the chase! Where the hell is my backup!" he spat.

_"One Baker Eleven, backup is still in route. Heavy traffic is to blame for the delay."_

"Do you have an ETA?"

_"Negative One Baker Eleven, no ETA for backup."_

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, tossing the mic down. "Goes to show ya, Ray. If you want something done right you gotta do it yourself."

The yellow squirrel nodded in understanding but said nothing. He couldn't help but think about the fact that victory was so close but now so hard to reach. He almost had half mind to reveal the truth to Vector when Espio's voice came through the radio.

_"Vector, we're on Jackson Street headed for the center of town."_

"Roger that, Espio. Backup is still on its way. I'll be there as soon as I can."

_"Copy that."_

Vector started towards the reported location. The reptile's hands clenched the wheel as they raced along the streets, fighting traffic and avoiding numerous dangers along the way.

* * *

On the smaller avenue things hadn't exactly improved for the escapees. Since the road was smaller it was far more difficult to maneuver. This also meant that dodging traffic was also made a more challenging thing to do. Working most against them was the fact that Espio could move much more easily amongst the smaller area than they could.

"Well this didn't work as well as I'd hoped!" Sonic spat frustratedly.

"Relax! We got rid of Vector for the moment! If we can lose Espio right now we might be able to get away!"

"If you have an idea how to do that I'd love to hear it!"

"You can start by not hitting this bus!"

In front of them a city bus had stopped to let off some passengers. Initially Sonic swerved into the lane next to him to avoid rear-ending the massive bus. Unfortunately he was prohibited from seeing the pedestrians that had started to cross the street in front of the bus. Suddenly they appeared from behind the bus, unaware of the speeding vehicle coming right at them.

"WOAH _WOAH **WOAH!**_" Manic shouted at seeing the people.

Sonic had no choice but to swing wide into the opposite lanes to avoid hitting anybody. The consequence was that they were now not only headed for traffic going in the opposite direction, but also the oncoming cars stopped at the red light on the other side of the intersection.

The only thing Sonic could think to do at that moment was to slow down. Slamming the brake and clutch to the floor the wheels locked up, releasing puffs of smoke and a shrill squeal. The sounds and visuals alerted the other drivers about to go through the intersection to stop suddenly.

The opposite traffic had stopped. Sonic released both pedals and turned back to the right, aiming for the open lanes on the right side of the avenue. Unfortunately Sonic could see that the other direction of opposite traffic didn't know about them yet and were still coming at them.

Sonic shot through the intersection with his horn blaring, just barely beating out the other opposite traffic and making it to the first bit of open roadway they'd seen so far.

"Nice driving, dude!"

"We _have _to get away from this damn traffic!" Sonic answered, ignoring the comment.

Manic noticed that they'd still not rid of themselves of their two-wheeled pursuer. "And we also need to lose our little friend here."

"We're not going to do that on the city streets!"

Manic noticed a turn up ahead that had no traffic light or traffic for that matter. "Then let's try sticking to alleyways!"

Sonic didn't need to be told twice. Taking the right turn into the alley they did indeed not have traffic to worry about. What they did have to worry about was that things were now even tighter than before, a situation complicated by the numerous obstacles in the cramped passages. Everything from full dumpsters to potholes filled with the night's rainwater and even parked vehicles. Inevitably they came into contact with some of these objects, some of which most likely caused minor cosmetic damages or, due to the pot holes, tire or suspension damage.

Even more complicating was the possibilities that awaited them at the end of each alley. Some alleys led right to the next but were intersected by roads with traffic on them that had no idea they were coming and subsequently meant avoiding them was always a close call. Other times an alley would dump them onto a street with no alleys in sight so they'd have to fight traffic to find another. But their worst fear was that they'd start down an alley only to find they'd gone straight into a dead end.

"This isn't working!" Sonic shouted, punching the steering wheel as they reached the end of another alleyway and power-slid out onto a two-way street. "All we've succeeded in is getting lost and not making any progress in escaping!"

"But Vector hasn't shown up for a while. Maybe we've lost him."

"That may be true, but we ain't going anywhere fast if we don't lose Espio!"

Up ahead there was a traffic jam thanks to the morning rush hour. Looking around they spotted yet another alley, but this one was without a doubt the tightest yet. There was no more than a foot and a half of space on either side of them, which at their speeds felt like only six inches. But soon after they'd started down the path they realized they had a problem.

"Bro... did we just turn into a dead end?"

Ahead of them there was nothing but a brick wall with no apparent exit or outlet to a street. Sonic began to let off the gas, thinking perhaps they could back out before Espio cut off their escape route. This hope was short lived as the flashing lights of Espio's motorcycle came into the alley behind them.

Sonic stayed on the gas as long as he dared before braking was absolutely necessary. At the end of the alleyway there was an open space. This allowed for the car to be swung hard left and stop perpendicular to the alley they'd just came down. Looking out his window Sonic watched as Espio came to a stop at the mouth of alley, glaring at them.

"Vector, I've got them corned. They'd in a dead end alley just off of Astricky Street."

_"Don't let those pricks get away! I'll be there in less than a minute!"_

As the hedgehogs had predicted Espio had been keeping Vector updated of their position the entire time. The reality was they'd made no real progress at all. And now they were cornered with little chance to escape.

It was then Sonic examined a dilapidated wood fence directly behind them. It didn't look very sturdy from years of neglect. It also appeared that behind it was a continuation of the alley they were in that just might lead to a way out. Best of all was that piles of discarded rubbish, including a couple of rotting mattresses, provided a padding of sorts against the fence.

"Hey bro... you think we can bust through the half a ton of garbage behind us?"

Manic looked at the pile, then at Espio. Then back to the pile, then Espio. Then back and forth once more. Manic shrugged. "Hell, I'd try it."

Sonic looked left at a very suspicious Espio. He flashed a grin at him and waved a quick goodbye. As fast as he could Sonic shifted into reverse and jammed the gas down. The rear wheels smoked from the sudden surge of power but they shot backwards nonetheless. Although they only had about fifteen feet to get going it was sufficient enough for them to plow into the pile of trash with enough force to topple the old wooden fence with little difficulty at all.

Espio couldn't believe what he'd just seen. he got his motorcycle going again, but he had difficulty trying to maneuver amongst the debris pile. In frustration he watched as the Mustang was once again getting away from him.

"WOOOOOOO! HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES, ESPIO! YOU GOT OWNED BY A BUNCH OF TRASH!" Manic spouted gleefully.

"If we don't hurry up we're going to be owned by trash too!"

Looking in his rear view Manic's stomach came into the back of his throat. A front-loader garbage truck was directly behind them in the middle of emptying a dumpster into it's hopper. There was enough room in front of the truck to squeeze by, but any second the truck was going to start lowering its mechanical arms and cut off their only escape route.

Sonic pressed the gas pedal back down to gain as much speed as he could, but in reverse he could only go so fast. It wasn't nearly as fast as Espio was currently going in an attempt to cut their lucky break short.

Manic was frantically looking back at the trash truck. His worst fears came true as the arms of the truck began to lower.

"He's dropping it! You gotta move!"

"What do you think I'm doing!"

They were only about twenty feet from the truck. Espio was about double that away, but closing fast. "Oh no you don't!" he though in fury.

"Go faster, dude! **Go faster! _Go-go-go-go-go-go-go!_**"

A cross of adrenaline and stress made Sonic bellow out at the top of his lungs, every fiber of his being intent on escaping. with only a few feet to spare they shot underneath the dumpster and out to the other side.

Their sudden appearance started the operator and made him push the lever that tipped the dumpster forward. The metal box slip off the lifting forks of the arms and slam to the ground with a thunderous crash. Espio had to desperately slam on his own brakes and twist sideways to avoid hitting the dropped receptacle.

The chameleon only just avoided a collision. Though the dumpster's side access hatches he could see the Mustang slipping away yet again.

"Vector, dammit! I... I lost them again!"

_"What! Where are they!"_

"Headed in reverse out to Castlebeck Avenue!"

_"...How convenient."_

At the end of the alley Sonic braked hard as they came out onto Castlebeck Avenue, cutting off more traffic. After everything they'd just gone through traffic was a welcome inconvenience. Not wanting to waste one second of their time in the clear they got moving in the right direction.

"Dude, that was awesome! THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"You're telling me! Looks like things are finally going our way!"

Both hedgehogs smiled at each for a moment, but only a brief one. They could hear a siren approaching them from behind and fast. Glancing into their mirrors they both spotted a familiar black BMW M5 emerge from the traffic and lock onto their path.

"Oh you have _**got**_ to be kidding me!" Sonic shouted in frustration. "How the hell did he find us so fast!"

"Espio probably kept Vector aware of which way we were going the whole time."

"Well sure! Of course! This whole night's been a shit show! What should make now any different!"

"Dude, chill! We won't get anywhere fast like this!"

"You're right. Hang on, we're gonna juice Warp 7 on this mofo!"

Dropping down a gear Sonic was prepared to kick things up a notch. It was apparent now that getting away wasn't going to come easy and more risks were going to have to be taken.

Thinking back to a few hours ago Sonic remembered a section of town that some teammates has used to effectively shake their pursuers. He felt that it was a good place to start.

"Manic, what's the closest way to get uptown fast?"

"Uhh..."

"Now, bro!"

"Uhh, McQueen Boulevard! It runs right though downtown and right up into uptown! It'll take us right there!"

"Perfect!"

Sonic made a turn for the center of town, which by this point was very close. Vector was close behind them with sirens wailing and lights flashing.

"Espio, we're headed downtown! We're a few blocks from the elevated section of the Elerail!"

_"Copy! I'm about three minutes behind you!"_

"10-4!"

As the chase got closer to the elevated train tracks it became obvious that things were going to get complicated. Due to the support beams taking up a large chunk of the center of the street the road lanes were oddly spread to either side. Additionally, the traffic here especially tight not only because of the lanes, but the fact that they were in the center of town.

Reaching the elevated rails both cars had to greatly reduce their speeds to weave about clogged lanes.

"Damn, this traffic!" Sonic swore. "It never lets up!"

"Welcome to Station Square, dude!"

At one intersection in particular they were brought to practically a standstill as they fought the traffic. Suddenly the inside of the car was filled with flashing lights. Vector had pulled up right behind them in an attempt to box them in. He nudged the rear bumper of the Mustang slightly as he closed the final gap.

"Un-uhh! Not gonna happen!"

Sonic responded the only way that he could. A small gap to the left around the traffic opened up and he launched through it, into the opposing lane. Vector was quick to follow, but he knew it was a risky move.

"Hang on, Ray! We might come to an abrupt stop!"

Right away both cars were forced to switch back to the correct side of the road to avoid a head-on collision. Soon after they were going back to the opposing side when they were blocked again. What ensued for several blocks was a slalom back and forth between vehicles and support pillars until the chase finally reached the center of town.

"There it is! There it is!" Manic cried as he pointed at McQueen Avenue.

"I see it! Hold on!"

Sonic started to turn left again to make it look like the zig-zag was going to continue. Vector followed, exactly as he'd hoped. In the middle of the intersection Sonic applied full brake and pulled the wheel hard right. Vector shot straight by, realizing a few seconds later what had happened. By the time he'd stopped and turned around Sonic and Manic were well on their way down the avenue and yet again getting close to escaping.

"Oh hell yeah! We left him in the dust!"

"Uhh, Manic?... Why are we going down?"

The road was slowly sinking downward and soon they found themselves inside a tunnel. Fortunately the traffic hadn't jammed up on their side since most of it was on the opposite heading into town from uptown.

"You never said this road led to a tunnel!"

"I never said it didn't!"

"We're gonna have to work on our communication, bro!"

Vector had regained his lost ground and was on the slope down into the tunnel. He grabbed for his radio to send out one last message ot Espio before he lost contact underground.

"Espio, we're on McQueen Avenue going into the tunnel! We're headed uptown!"

_"Roger that, Vector. I'll see if I can-"_

Inside the tunnel the radio lost contact with Espio's improve helmet radio. Vector dropped the mic and concentrated on driving. He could just pick out the tail lights of his prized sports car several hundred feet ahead.

"You can run Sonic, but there's no way in hell you can hide from me."

* * *

A few minutes later and the chase had entered the part of Station Square that was originally built on a hilly landscape. As a result many of the streets were sloped at steep angles. I was also home to Lombard street, where only hours earlier Knuckles and Julie-Su barely escaped. The roads in this uptown region were certainly not for everybody. To help, the area had a system of cable cars that ran through the streets to make getting through the tricky roads easier. Of course, many still attempted to drive the roads themselves. It was no place a careless driver to to be.

"Now this is happenin'!"

"Are you nuts? This is no place for a high speed chase!"

"Exactly! Maybe they'll give up!" Sonic answered.

"Ballsy! Stupid, but ballsy!"

"Ah, don't worry about it! I've done this before!"

Taking a hard left they accelerated up a long street with a moderate incline and very little traffic. Although a tad behind Vector kept right with them and made the turn onto the same road.

"He's still back there, dude!"

Sonic peeked into his rear view and spotted the flashing lights on Vector's car. Realizing that outrunning him was going to be difficult, he decided to see if out driving the croc would work instead. At the top of the hill Sonic took a 90 degree left turn up another long road, this time of moderate incline. The plan was to make another sharp turn up ahead and loop back around to escape.

Luck was not on their side. The road they were approaching was one with cable cars, and at the intersection one such car was waiting at a red light to the left of them. This cut off any opportunity to make the turn to escape. In a split second Sonic had to decide whether to go straight and hope that Eleanor's horsepower could get them far enough ahead, or go right and hope the multiple turns slowed him down.

Downshifting a gear, Sonic choose to go right. His thought was that the cable cars might throw Vector off and give them an advantage. Speeding up the new street they were forced to go into the opposite of the road to get around the traffic. Shortly before reaching the top of the hill Sonic's heart jumped when the cable car for the opposite side came over he top of the incline. Applying heavy brakes he slowed enough to be able to throw the wheel right to get back into the proper lane. In doing so he cut off several cars behind him.

The cut off vehicles spun and skidded into the intersection as the Mustang caught slight air off the top of the hill and proceeded to the opposite, downward slope of the road. The clog in the intersection made several other cars come to a halt, causing a jam in the intersection but fortunately not causing a crash.

"Ha! That oughta hold him off!" Manic chanted triumphantly.

The green hedgehog had barely finished his sentence when he spotted something in his rear view he could barely believe. Espio had caught up with them. He must have seen the incident occur from the bottom of the road and, rather than slow down, he sped up. When he hit the edge of the road the motorcycle took flight. Although the jump was only about 5 or 6 feet into the air, this was enough to just clear the front ends of the two cars blocking the intersection. More impressive, though, was the distance. With the speed he'd gained Espio launched clear over the intersection and landed a few feet down onto the downward slope of the road.

"Holy shit! Did you see that?"

"No, I'm busy looking at what's up ahead!"

Up ahead the light had just changed for the opposite direction. Once again Sonic had to brake hard, this time going right and up a street with the steepest incline yet. Espio was right behind them. Vector had finally gotten around the traffic and was catching up.

"Espio, don't follow us!" Vector ordered. "See if you can find another way around and block him off! I'll keep posted on our position!"

_"10-4!"_

Espio broke off from the chase to as ordered. Looking up the hill he watched as the Mustang left the ground slightly as it reached the apex. Vector gunned the throttle, blaring his horn to warn any drivers that might be at the top.

"Not so fast, you bastard!"

Up at the top of the hill the hedgehogs had covered about two or three blocks straight when Vector's BMW jumped the top of the hill behind them.

"Looks like Espio broke off. It's probably some sort of trap!"

"You figure that out all by yourself!" Sonic shouted as he took a hard left.

Amongst the bickering they two reached the top of the current road. This time, however, the road wasn't an intersection. Instead, they were on the upper-half of a T-Intersection, and a short one at that. Ahead it looked as if the road literally just ended because the down slope was one of the steepest in the city. The only thing sonic could do in time was take his foot off the gas pedal. Though this slowed the car some, it didn't prevent them from lifting nearly three feet off the ground. For a moment everything went smooth as they soared through the air for what seemed like an eternity but was really only a second or two.

"WHOOPS!" Sonic shouted while they were airborne.

The Saleen leveled in flight and slammed down on all four wheels. Even with the level landing the impact was brutal as the suspension compressed as far as it could and the chassis took some of the impact. Had either hedgehog not been wearing their seat belts they would have been thrown into the dashboard. Even so they still received quite a jolt from the locked belts.

"Damn!"

"Wooaaah!"

Both hedgehogs made their exclamations at the same time from the sudden force on their bodies. They had to brace themselves though because the road they were on plateaued and dropped several times with no turn offs. Using compression braking by downshifting Sonic slowed the car some as they reached the first plateau. The g-force from the quick change of road surface threw snapped their necks down and back before they were airborne again. The impact wasn't as bad this time since they had slowed, but it was still a shock when they met the ground again.

Sonic did apply some gas between landings to make sure they kept up some sort of distance from Vector. But on a slightly longer break between plateaus Sonic caught a glimpse of a black BMW leaping over the first slope in the road behind them.

"Vector's not giving up easy, is he?" Manic asked.

"Well duh! Did you expect him to?" Sonic shouted. "He's probably put two and two together by now!"

On the third leap the Mustang nosed forward slightly, scraping the undercarriage when it landed and throwing the occupants back and forth violently in their seats.

"She can' take much mo' of this, Cap'ain!" Manic said, mimicking Scotty from Star Trek.

"Tell me something I don't know!"

"We've got company!"

While still in midair from the last "step" in the road Sonic spotted Espio speeding towards them. This time, however, he wasn't alone. Two S.S.P.D. squad cars were tailing the detective. They were going to reach the bottom of the road before they did and both hedgehogs knew what they were going to do.

As they slammed to the ground the two squad cars came to a halt and formed a road block. And stopped his bike in front of the small gap between the two cars, cutting off any exit in that direction. Sonic slammed on his own brakes and turned hard left, spinning the 180 degrees at the bottom of the hill. IN front of them up the hill Vector also came to a screeching halt, his driver side facing to them.

In their current position it was going to be easier to go forwards than backwards so their escape path was obvious. But things were about to take a turn for the worst as the most unlikely occurrence of the chase so far was about to occur.

"GET YOUR HANDS ON THE WINDSHIELD AND DON'T MOVE!"

These words were shouted by on of the officers getting of a squad car and pointing a revolver at them. The two hedgehogs exchanged astonished looks. For the first time since the chase had started they both felt genuinely scared.

"UP! GET 'EM UP WHERE I CAN SEE 'EM!"

The other office had gotten out of the other squad car, brandishing a pump-action shotgun. This time the Mobians took no chances. They pressed their gloved hands up against the windshield and ducked their heads down.

"Holy shit, dude!"

"You never said they'd point guns at us, bro!"

"I never said they wouldn't!"

"That's a detail I would have liked to know about ahead of time!"

"Why do you think I wanted to keep the guns I had?"

Sonic ignored his brother's obvious complaint at having been disarmed. Outside he could hear Espio shouting at the officers to lower their weapons and not shoot. Taking a peak at his side mirror Sonic could see Vector shouting through his microphone, most likely barking commands at Espio to do what he was already doing.

Realizing going forward was impossible there was only one choice. "I'm going for it."

"What? Are you-"

Sonic was serious. Taking one last look around the surrounding law enforcement was busy arguing with itself. Seizing the opportunity Sonic shifted into first and gunned the throttle. The torque from the sudden power spun and smoked the rear tires as they started back up the hill.

"This is crazy!" Manic shouted.

"And it's even! Better than three-on-one!"

In front of them the officers realized what was happening and opened fire with their weapons. They were panic shots at best but a few found their way to the Mustang, piercing the steel body in various places.

"Cease fire, dammit!" Espio roared, reaching for his microphone. "Look out, Vector! They're coming right at you!"

_"Yeah, no shit!"_

On the first landing Vector watched as his car was coming right at him in reverse. The reptile was pondering whether to hold his ground or two let them by. Since his car was perpendicular to the other if he let them pass it was going to take precious moments to turn around to being chasing again.

"V-V-VECTOR! THEY'RE GONNA HIT US!" Ray shrieked, looking out at the approaching Mustang.

Vector looked for the slightest indication as to what he should do. Looking into the eyes of the oncoming hedgehog he saw a determination that was unbreakable. The hedgehog was going to get by, even if it meant ramming right into them. Perhaps it was a loss of nerve, perhaps it was fear for his partner, or perhaps it was simply to prolong the chase, Vector pressed the gas and moved forward and out of the way

As Sonic sped by he glanced over. Although it was only a split second of a view, time seemed to slow down in that instance. He could see fury on Vector's face unlike anything he'd ever seen before as he looked around at the passing Mustang. It looked as though the detective would kill him if given the chance. Sonic knew he deserved such a look for everything he'd done, but that didn't make it an easier to see a long-time friend look at him like that.

The hedgehogs had a clear shot to get up the hill. As all the others struggled to catch up. At the top of the hill Sonic had to decide to go back the way they came or take a right onto the long leg of the T-Intersection. Sonic chose to go right and they found themselves on a steep decline, but fortunately this one was straight rather than stepped. There weren't any cars on the road at the moment so they were able to put a fair amount of distance between themselves and their pursuers.

"This is much better," Sonic said with some cheer in his voice.

"I can't those cops shot at u!. I mean, pulling a gun is one thing, but they really shot us and we didn't do anything to them!"

"I hear ya. The only thing stranger is-THAT!"

Sonic had the tug the wheel hard left onto another downward street, this one laden with cable car tracks. They'd narrowly avoided a T-Bone collision with a G.U.N. semi-truck that was barreling down at them.

"What the hell is that?"

"A big-ass truck!" Sonic answered, chuckling sightly at the obvious answer.

"Why are they in this chase?"

Before sonic could answer the truck started to swerve back and forth on the road, plowing into parked cars and other objects along the edge of the street.

"Is that driver drunk or something?"

"Uhh, dude?... There isn't a driver in the cab."

Peeking into his mirror Sonic caught a glimpse of the cab. Sure enough the truck wasn't being driver by anybody.

"High speed chase, gunfire, driver truck! **What next!**" Sonic shouted in exasperation.

His answer came in the form of two cable cars that were very slowly coming into the intersection they were rapidly approaching. The scene was set for what could be a horrific crash, but Sonic wasn't going to have it. Drilling the gas down he put some distance between them and the truck. Without flinching he shot between the two cable cars with only feet to spare. A couple of seconds later the sound of a metal-crunching crash made them look into their mirrors to see the carnage behind them of the truck smashing into both cable cars.

They were soon distracted by groups of angry people yelling at them as they sped down the flat block. Only then did they notice an intricate set up of lights, cameras, and microphones.

"A movie set?"

"Oh yeah! I heard on the news they were going to be recording this today!" Manic answered.

"Then... why wasn't it blocked off?"

Neither hedgehog could come up with an answer for that question. There was simply no explanation why such a dangerous event hadn't been cordoned off better.

What was obvious was that despite the peculiar circumstances they'd lost their pursuers for the moment. The hedgehogs gave the movie set credit for that. Seizing the opportunity they took the fastest route possible to Route 101, which would in turn drop them off closer to the docks than Route 280 would. On the way their they didn't run into any resistance, which was a welcome blessing, but somehow a sense of foreboding was brewing in the hedgehog's guts.

"They're gone..." Manic stated as they ran up an on-ramp for Route 101.

"Yeah..."

"Don't you find that weird?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to complain."

"I don't know, dude... Something doesn't feel right about this."

"You're right. It just feels like somebody is watching us, huh?"

Manic looked around through the windows. Suddenly his eyes locked onto something in the sky. "Sonic... we've got a helicopter or two watching us up there."

"That ain't all we got..."

Something in the way Sonic answered made Manic's blood run cold. Looking into his mirror he saw it to.

"_Oh... shit._"

"Yup."

* * *

Still on the streets Vector and Espio were desperately trying to catch up. They'd wandered into it just like Sonic and Manic had and they wanted to make sure things were secure before moving on. Vector had ordered the two back up units to stay behind and make sure everything was alright, but also because he didn't trust them after their bizarre behavior. The cost was that they'd fallen far behind and had only vague directions from the film crew.

Vector decided to call Espio, who had a few blocks lead, on the radio. "Have you seen anything yet?"

"Not a thing."

"Dammit! Where the hell could they have gone!"

"Wait wait wait... I see helicopters over Route 101. Look."

The one helicopter was red and white in color and looked like a run-of-the-mill design. The other was painted all black and looked designed for speed. Vector knew the purpose for both.

"Yeah, I see em. One of em belongs to the news, the other one is ours. I'll see if I can contact them."

Vector switched radio channels to dial into the police helicopter. "Air Unit 1, this is One-Baker-Eleven. Do you copy?"

_"10-4, One-Baker-Eleven. Read you loud an clear."_

"Air-1, what are you in pursuit of?"

_"One-Baker-Eleven, we are following a silver Mustang in hot pursuit. Vehicle is on Route 101 headed downtown."_

"Roger that, Air-1! You just made my day! I'm joining the chase!"

_"One-Baker-Eleven, I wouldn't bother if I were you."_

"Air-1, can you repeat that?"

_"He said don't bother."_

Vector nearly dropped his microphone at the new voice. "What the hell do you want?"

_"Isn't it obvious? Around here I own the highways, Detective. This one is mine."_

"Bullshit! I started this chase! It's my suspect!"

_"That's not my problem. **Your** suspect is on **my** highway. Finders keepers. If you want what's yours you're gonna have to catch up, and coming from me that pretty much means your screwed."_

Vector flung his microphone away and howled in anger. He mashed his accelerator to the floor and in just moments overtook Espio and continued on. Moments later as they were flying up an on-ramp to Route 101 did either of them notice Espio calling on the radio.

_"Vector, do you read me! Where did you go? What's going on?"_

"ANSWER THAT!" Vector barked.

Ray nervously picked up the mic, his hands shaking uncontrollably. "W-w-we're on R-R-Route 101, Esp-p-p-p-p-io! Get here f-f-f-f-f-f-fast!"

_"Why? What's happened?"_

"We-we-we-'re not the only one's ch-chasing them anym-m-m-m-more!"

_"Ray... are you saying what I think you're saying?"_

Ray's answer made Espio gun his own throttle and soon after he too was on Route 101, trying to rejoin the chase. After everything they'd endured so far they weren't about to let another capture their suspect.

* * *

"You... wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Snively. Come right in."

Robotnik was being rather gracious, so much so that Snively feared for his life. He could count on one hand how many times he'd seen Robotnik this happy and every time it meant that something big was about to or was happening.

"Today is a good day. Do you know why?"

"Uhh... I'm going to say it has something to do with the hedgehog, sir."

"Which one?"

"Umm... I'm not sure."

"That's okay. I hadn't counted on the answer either. Observe."

Robotnik turned on a T.V. Channel that was broadcasting a breaking news story from a helicopter. The picture showed a silver Mustang barreling down Route 101 with multiple police vehicles behind it.

_"If you're just tuning in what you're seeing is a high speed pursuit that had gone from one side of the city to the other. From what we have heard from the S.S.P.D. the chase began a little under twenty minutes ago in front of the Emerald Coast Hotel. The chase them moved through busy downtown traffic and through the McQueen Avenue tunnel to the uptown area. The chase tore through the quiet residential streets and even interrupted a movie set. Although there are reports of officers firing at the vehicle, no injuries or crashes have been reported. This is a dangerous situation as the car is heading back to town. But as you can see, all five members of the S.S.P.D. S-Team high speed patrol unit are closing in on the car and its two suspects as we speak. Chances are this chase will be over soon as nobody has ever alluded the S-Team's specialized high-performance pursuit vehicles. Stay tuned for more details as this chase unfolds."_

Robotnik was grinning from ear to ear and rubbing his hands together like and excited child. Snively identified the vehicle easily, but didn't understand why this was exciting Robotnik so much.

"Sir.. if I may ask... why is this such a good thing?"

"Did you hear the reported say the vehicle's two occupants?"

"Yes, sir."

"Who do you think those two occupants are?"

"Well, if it were the best case scenario, I would say Sonic and Manic, sir."

"That's _exactly_ who it is."

"It... is? How do you know?"

"Tell me something, dear nephew... If I was able to bribe members of G.U.N., wouldn't you say bribing members of the S.S.P.D. would be a cinch?"

It dawned on Snively what Robotnik was so happy about now. "A contact in the S.S.P.D. told you so. Wait... this is Plan C, isn't it? You paid off officers from the S.S.P.D. to do our dirty work, including some S-Team members. And now we can take out the hedgehogs in one shot, either with them dying or being exposed for what they've done."

"_Exactly_... They've already made their lives difficult with several well-placed traps. I'm sure before this is all over they'll make it a living hell."

"They'll probably wish they'd never decided to take this job."

"More importantly, they'll wish they'd never fucked with me. As I see it Snively, nothing they do can beat me now. I'm more powerful now than I was in the old empire. And soon that bastard hedgehog will trouble me no more."

Both of the overlanders chuckled as they watched the images on screen. They were confident that they were going to witness the downfall of Sonic the Hedgehog on live television, as would anybody else watching. Regardless of the outcome, Robotnik knew he'd pulled one over good on the hedgehog he hated so much.

* * *

**_To be continued..._**


	30. Radical Highway

**Author's Notes**:

Well, here we are again! Part two of the big chase scene! And for fans of Sonic Adventure 2, this chapter pays tribute to another level from that game, though this one is less direct than the previous one.

I'm not going to bore you with another delay story. All I will say is that issues (not bad) regarding my education took priority and I lost time to work on this chapter.

I also must admit I'm not really completely happy with this chapter. It seems I used a lot of my good chase ideas in previous chapters. I've suffered with writer's block and rewrote this chapter at least half a dozen times now. I apologize ahead of time if there's spelling or continuity errors, although I'm fairly certain I fixed them all.

I also want to say quickly that the next chapter, Part 3, will probably be short, maybe 3000 or 400 words. I don't want to drag this chase out too long, but also I'll be starting college classes in a week. Experience has shown me that for the first week or two of classes I'll still have time to work on updates, but after that it gets more difficult. So hopefully I'll be able to get Part 3 done before I inevitably get buried in class work.

Other than that, remember: Opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 30** - **The Chase Part 2 - Radical Highway**

"Mmmph..."

In the darkness of the living quarters of Club Rouge, the sedatives Espio had dropped into the drink of a certain black cat had finally worn off. Sitting up on the mattress and rubbing her head, Avarice tried to retrace everything that had happened right until everything just blacked out.

_"What the hell happened?... Everything was going fine. I had him right where I wanted him, then... my drink."_

Looking around Avarice found her glass of now room temperature chartreuse. Looking at it she couldn't see anything, but her sensitive nose detected a slight odor that was not supposed to be there.

"That son of a bitch! I'll bet he drugged me to have his way with me!... No, no, no, that doesn't make sense. I was practically giving myself away to him! Why knock me out?"

Looking around the room she looked for some sort of indication of what might have happened since she'd been passed out. On the nightstand she found a note. It was in Rouge's handwriting.

**_Avy,_**

**_The detective drugged you. He was up to some snooping and he might know what's going on. When you get this get the hell out of here. I'd move you myself but I have to finish this job first. I'll contact you as soon as possible._**

**_Ro_**

**_P.S. - I moved your stuff to my dresser. Your phone and keys were missing._**

The last line of the note made the feline spring from the bed, although she was a bit wobbly still from the drug wearing off in her system. Searching through her pile of clothes and belongings she confirmed Rouge's note.

"That little prick," she said with a hiss. "He double-crossed me! Nobody double-crosses me! Then again... I didn't walk away empty-handed."

From under the dresser she was searching she pulled out a set of motorcycle keys. She chuckled at herself for what she'd done while gathering her clothes. Turning on the television as she dressed she needed to find out what kind of traffic she was going to face while ditching town for a while.

_"We now return to this breaking news story..."_

"Oh, come on! I need to know how the hell I'm going to get-"

On the screen was an image of a green and black motorcycle following a black BMW. These vehicles followed a quintet of high-speed pursuit vehicles which in turn pursued a silver Mustang. The announced was recounting what had happened up until that point, but Avarice barely heard a word of it. All she knew was that Espio had not only taken her bike keys, but had taken the bike too.

"That piece of shit! Well, I definitely can't get it back now! By the time he's done with it it'll be in the impound... Fucker."

Knocking the TV from its stand Avarice dressed quickly and stomped downstairs. She still felt slightly drowsy so she took a pot of coffee that had been sitting out all night from the bar. Quaffing the black liquid down nearly made her gag.

Shaking off the slight nausea she exited the club and strolled to Espio's waiting Kawasaki Ninja 650R. Swinging her leg around the motorcycle she had it started in a second was on her way.

"Dammit, this thing is slow! A turtle fucks faster than this!"

With how slow the new motorcycle was to her she was not going to make a lot of progress in escaping so that the heat on her could die down. But across town on Route 101 the same could not be said for Sonic and Manic.

* * *

Eleanor might have been a fast car, but she was no match for the specially designed patrol cars the S-Team used. Resembling combination of a fighter jet and a F1 race car the four white deputy vehicles were lead by their leader Sam Speed's red one. The five cars were trying to stay in line as best as possible, but the current traffic prevented them from doing anything cunning.

"Dammit, this is not good," Manic said worriedly.

"Yup."

"They're faster than us, no doubt about it."

"Yup."

"So... you got a plan?"

"Yup."

"Does it start with yup?"

"Yup."

_"Sonic, come in!"_

It was Sally. "I hear ya, Sally."

_"Sonic, what the hell is going on? Sonia told me you had something radical planned. What were you thinking!"_

"Things didn't turn out as I planned. I'm just improvising right now."

_"This is crazy! If you get caught-"_

"Not gonna happen."

_"Now is not a time to get cocky! For once could you just-"_

"What did I _just_ say?"

_"There's no way you an be sure about that! Your just assuming that you can-"_

"Sally?"

Sally grunted frustratedly. _"WHAT!"_

"When I say I was gonna get us out of this, I meant it. One way or another I'll make good of all this."

"Here they come, dude."

Sonic glanced at his mirror. The S-Team was starting to close in on them. "I gotta go, Sal. Juice time."

_"Sonic, please... Please don't-"_

"I won't let you down, Sally. You know I won't."

All they heard was a sigh and the line cut out. Looking into his mirror again Sonic could see the five squad cars starting to gain on them.

"Remember what I said about these guys? Straight line performers. If we can stick to the curvy stuff, we've got a shot!"

"But there's no curves on this road!"

"Yeah, but there's plenty of cars and that's all I need!"

Sonic accelerated into the traffic up ahead. Behind them Sam Speed scoffed at the site. _"He's only delaying the inevitable,"_ he thought. "Team, hold your ground. Once the traffic clears we'll take them down in seconds."

_"Sir, permission to attempt apprehension now."_

"Unit 2, repeat."

_"Sir, I believe I could take him now."_

"Negative, Unit 2. It's too risky."

_"The traffic is not that bad! I know as second in command I can handle it!"_

"Do not challenge my authority! I say that we are staying put for now!"

_"Screw this! I'm going in!"_

Unit 2 burst ahead in pursuit of the hedgehogs. Little did any of them know that the driver of Unit 2 was in fact paid off by Robotnik and was going to do far more than try to apprehend the hedgehogs.

Amongst the traffic Manic caught sight of the single S-Team unit closing in on them. "Yo, dude! Look!"

"I see him."

"I thought those guys always worked as a team."

"Guess Speed's getting soft or something."

It was apparent to them that Unit 2 was not messing around. Every time they thought they were getting away the gap closed up again. Calling back on the experience he had a few days ago, Sonic darted among the lanes of traffic, trying to gain any advantage he could. At best it was a stalemate as not much progress was made on either side. There was a sudden opening in the traffic and both cars belted into the empty space.

"This isn't working like it did a few days ago!"

"Well no duh, dude! Scourge was in a GTO! This is a missile with wheels!"

A glinting object zipped directly overhead and smashed into the roadway in front of them, tumbling end over end. For the first time in the whole chase Manic reached over and yanked the wheel to the right, just barely avoiding the object. Wrenching back control of the wheel Sonic narrowly avoided a spin out from the sudden direction change at high speed.

"What the hell was that!" Sonic shouted, referring to the object.

"E.S.D. Electronic Systems Disruptor."

"You expect me to know what that is?"

"The S-Team invented them specifically for high speed chases. They're kinda like one of those claws in a crane machine in an arcade and they shoot them at a car. When they hit they latch on an send a pulse through the car that fries all the electronics and the whole thing shuts down for good."

"Oh that's great! That's just fucking great! This chase was a great idea!"

"Watch out! He's arming his second E.S.D.!"

A second launcher tube, exactly like the one Sam had threatened Vector with, extended from the nose of Unit 2. It was the only one left so the rogue officer was going to make it count. Now more than ever every move Sonic made was matched by his follower. Looking in the rear view Unit 2 had a perfect trajectory set up to hit them. Escaping was not going to happen.

"What the hell!" Manic suddenly said.

Looking back Unit 2 started to drop back and in a hurry. They could see the driver struggling to control the vehicle as it drifted to the side of the road. The third unit also dropped from the chase, pulling to the side of the road not far from the disabled Unit 2. It was apparent what had happened.

Sam Speed's red vehicle had a firing position behind where Unit 2 was just moments ago. In its nose was an empty tube were an E.S.D. was launched from moments ago. It had lodged itself into the back of Unit 2, knocking out all of its vital systems and shutting it down.

"Looks like Speed took him out!"

"Why would he do that?" Sonic pondered.

"Don't know, don't care. Let's move!"

Although still bothered by the strange occurrence there was no time to stall. Mashing down on the accelerator the car lurched as the RPMs rose. Shifting into fourth the car lurched again, starting to put distance between themselves and the remaining S-Team.

_"Unit 2 has been apprehended."_

"Very good. Take him to prison," Sam informed his fellow officer. "Team, our rogue teammate has been taken care of. Let's get back to business. Air One, give me a status on the vehicle."

_"Roger that, Speed One. Suspect is down town bound traveling at ninety miles per hour."_

"Heh. That's nothing. Team, prepare to intercept on my command."

_"Not so fast, Speedy!"_

Narrowly squeezing by on the shoulder Vector overtook the S-Team. Espio followed close and continued on ahead while Vector stayed in front of the lead vehicle of the pursuit team.

"Move it, Espio! Go go go!"

_"What the hell do you think you're doing, detective? Get out of my way!"_

"Like hell I will! I told you this was my pursuit!"

_"I don't give a damn what's yours! This is my highway, my chase!"_

"I don't see your name on the damn highway! So just try and make me get out of the way!"

_"...Very well."_

Looking into his rear view Vector saw a hatch on the front nose of the vehicle open and a lunch tube protruded from the space.

_"I've already used this against one of my own for not following my orders. I will certainly used it against you if need be."_

Vector didn't care about the hidden weapon in the squad car. He knew all too well that Sam Speed was only sounding off, something he was notorious for doing.

"Just so you know that doesn't scare me one bit."

_"Well it should. After all, you know what this can do to your vehicle."_

"Of course I do, but last I checked your mouth is bigger than your balls, so let's see if you got the balls to try and shoot that damn thing at me."

Watching as the black BMW pulled away Sam retracted the weapon. He realized that there was little need for further confrontation. Things wee already in his favor.

"Listen up, team. One way or another we're going to catch that Mustang. If that means we have to deal with one obsessive detective, then so be it. Just remember what our mission is and remember I make the calls... Now, fall in line and prepare to apprehend. We've got a surprise waiting for them up ahead."

* * *

Sonic's mind raced to prepare a strategy. Their current path wasn't going to get them anywhere fast. With Espio close behind them they knew Vector was sure to follow and obviously the S-Team was behind them as well.

Shortly before reaching a curve they'd broken free from a wave of traffic. When they came around the corner they were met with the most unlikely set they'd seen yet.

"Uhh... Where's all the traffic?" Sonic said aloud.

Manic head whipped around in all directions to figure out how a super highway could be deserted during peak rush hour. Behind them he could see the lights of S.S.P.D. units that had blocked off the road.

Behind the hedgehogs Espio and Vector had just noticed the same thing. "Espio, what's going on here?"

_"It appears the S-Team called ahead for the road to be closed off somewhere behind us."_

"Perfect! Let's take them now!"

_"Not so fast, detective."_

The three surviving units fanned across the highway behind them. _"We'll take it from here, if you don't mind."_

"How many times do I have to repeat myself! I'm in charge of this chase, not you!"

_"Hmph... Not anymore."_

Vector's car may have been fast but it was no match for the S-Team's vehicles. Even with his foot pinned to the floor Vector could only watch as he was overtaken by the other three officers.

"DAMN THAT BASTARD!" Vector shouted, snatching his microphone. "Espio, come in!"

_"I read you. What's the matter?"_

"Sam Speed and his deputies are closing in on you fast! Do anything you can to stop them!"

_"You mean the S-Team or the others?"_

"Either!"

The truth was that though Espio's bike was fast it wasn't as fast as Eleanor was. Espio knew that trying to catch the hedgehogs was futile. The only thing he could think to do was to try and slow the S-Team down in any way that he could.

This notion was short lived when Espio glanced over his shoulder and saw the trio of cars coming at him much faster than he thought they were coming. Even as he tried swerving back and forth to block their path the team simply drove around him.

"They blew straight past me, Vector. There was nothing I could do."

_"Just stay on them! If I know Sonic he's going to pull a fast one that might put the ball back in our court."_

"Roger that."

Although the detectives were driving at high speeds their training kept them from going all out. The same could not be said for the hedgehogs.

Sonic had Eleanor up to a white-knuckled 165 MPH and there was still room for more speed. With the highway ahead of them clear it would have been easy to get up to 200 MPH and leave the detectives behind. But with the S-Team closing in on them fast Sonic knew they had to come up with a plan soon or the chase would be over soon.

"Here they come! Damn they're fast!," Manic stated.

"Yeah, and we'll be in jail fast if we don't figure out a way to lose these guys."

Looking ahead of them both hedgehogs spotted an interesting sight. There was a highway under construction that not only wasn't far away, but also looked like it was connected to Route 260.

"That's it, dude! The 105 Freeway!"

"What about it?"

"I saw a news story about it! It's a link for a bunch of other highways that reach out into the surrounding areas so that everybody doesn't travel the super-highways and cause as many traffic problems!"

"That sounds good, but what about the traffic?"

"That's just the thing! It's under construction! It's not in use! It'll be empty! Totally clear!"

For the first time in a while Sonic smirked. He knew along with his brother that a construction site and incomplete highway held a lot of potential for them. But that potential would only be realized if they could lessen the threat from the S-Team.

Checking his mirror the three squad cars had broken formation. Speed went full throttle and shot past them, blocking their path. The other two unit started to close in on their rear.

"Shit! They're gonna try to box us in!"

_"...Are they?" _Sonic thought confidently.

So far most of the unexpected occurrences had been outside the control of either of them. This time, however, was different. The roar of Eleanor's engine slowly started to wind down and the g-forces pushing the hedgehogs into their seats lessened.

"What are you doing? You're slowing down!"

"I'm bringing them in closer."

"YOU'RE WHAT!"

"Just shut up and hang on!"

Having lowered their speed Sonic could now maneuver more without the concern of a high speed loss of control. He weaved from lane to lane across the road while slowing up and down to throw off the attempts of the S-Team to enclose around them.

Inside the lead car Sam Speed only shook his head. _"Pathetic. You don't stand a chance against us,"_ he thought to himself. "Team, I think it's time we show this guy we mean business. Move in. We're bringing an end to this."

Sonic kept trying to stop them as much as he could but the Indy-Car-esque automobiles began to close in around them.

"What are you waiting for? Get us out of here!"

"Not yet!"

The two white deputy cars then moved in a 45 degree angles to either side of the back of them. Once again Sonic weaved some more but the three cars were able to block any path they tried to take.

"This is it, dude! Make you're move or we're done for!"

"No! We have to wait!"

"For what!"

"For them to be closer."

"How close is close enough!"

Sonic ignored his brother's question. The two officers were just starting to move in when the whole group blew past what would eventually be an entrance for the 105 Freeway. It was blocked off with numerous barriers, equipment, and other objects, meaning getting through it would be troublesome. It was, however, exactly what Sonic had been waiting for.

"HANG ON!"

Up until then the chase had been concerned with speed. It was all about who was faster and who could use their speed to get away or catch up. As they'd been going along Route 101 Sonic realized there was only one thing they hadn't tried yet that just might throw everybody off. It was a huge risk, but experience had proven to Sonic that it was sometimes it was the only way to come out on top.

With barely enough space in the closing gap behind them, the blue blur slammed on the brake and clutch. All four wheels locked tight and screamed in agony from then sudden demand to stop moving. The deceleration was so sudden and violent both hedgehogs would have been thrown through the windshield had their seat belts not been latched.

Unable to react to such a sudden change the Mustang shot right between the two S-Team cars trying to block their rear. The officers were so caught off guard that they weren't able to react fast enough to not hit each other as they were pulling in to close off the rear escape route. The two cars collided, causing a loss of control at such high speeds. Air brake foils shot up on the high-tech squad cars, but it didn't slow them enough from colliding with either the side walls or center barriers of the impacts weren't hard enough to lead to catastrophic crashes, but they were certainly enough to stop them from taking part further in the chase.

At the same time the Mustang had also lost control and spun several times from the greater forces of braking so hard so suddenly. Luckily they avoided hitting the walls and came to a stop facing the opposite direction. Spinning their heads around they could see the two wrecked S-Team cars as well as Sam only just slowing down from realizing what had just happened.

"Hit the brakes and they fly right by," Sonic said with a grin, releasing all the brakes and starting back in the direction they were pointing. "Now it's time to check out this 105 Freeway."

They'd only overshot the construction entrance by about a quarter of a mile so it took very little time to get there. On the way they were met head-on by a very surprised set of detectives that swerved to either side as the silver blur of the Mustang blew past them.

Vector and Espio were able to stop quickly and turn around quickly. They did notice the two crashed S-Team members. As much as they wanted to continue the chase their duty to fellow officers had to be served. Arriving on the crash scene they found Sam Speed with an absolutely sour look on his face.

"Speed, what's the damage?" Vector asked.

"My officers are fine, but the cars are totaled."

"What happened?" Espio asked.

"I don't know who the hell that driver is but whoever it is knows how to drive. I've never seen somebody escape a rolling road block by slamming on the brakes like that. It was genius, as well as dumb on our part not to have thought of that."

"Well who's fault is that? Now you're down to just yourself on this team of yours and clearly you can't just leave them here helpless, can you?"

Sam glared at the detective, red in the face. "If you think for one minute that I'm done with this chase, you're insane. I will make that bastard pay, whoever he is. I'm going to make sure that he receives punishment for what he has caused. And I will also make sure you receive punishment for interfering with me."

"Yeah yeah yeah, just keep telling yourself that," Vector said as he left, seeing there was nothing he could do at the scene.

Vector started back for his squad car, Espio and Ray following him. "Do you have a plan, Vector?" Espio asked.

"I do. I gotta make a few calls for it, but yes. Oh, and Ray?"

"Y-yes?"

"This time I think you're idea is going to work."

Ray's stomach churned because he knew that Vector meant the plan to let Manic, but in this case both hedgehogs, think they'd gotten away with what they were doing. At some point they were going to catch up with Sonic and when they did it wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

At the entrance of the closed ramp to the 105 Freeway Sonic barely slowed down as he plowed through the orange plastic construction fencing. The material snapped out of the way and after dodging a few barriers and pieces of equipment the two found themselves flying along a highly welcomed open road. Soon enough they found themselves on the completely deserted, yet-to-open highway.

"Looks like we might have lost them, dude."

"I'll believe that when I see it. Don't forget, the S.S.P.D. and those helicopters are after us too."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Huh?"

Manic pointed up in the sky. The hovering aircraft were leaving, both law enforcement and news. Looking around there weren't any S.S.P.D. officers either. Checking their tail Vector nor the S-Team were on them. They were completely alone.

"I don't get it, Manic. Not one bit. One second we're basically done for, then we're alone. Can you say _suspicious?_"

"It's not impossible for the a chase to be called off, ya know. They probably figured that if we were good enough to out-drive the S-Team then we shouldn't be chased."

"I don't know... It just feels like there's about to be a big problem."

On cue, a red light lit up in the gauge cluster located next to the fuel gauge. "Well now we know why you felt that way. No biggy."

"No biggy? Do you see a gas station around here?"

"In fact I do. Pull over here."

They stopped next to a set of construction vehicles and equipment. In particular they were parked next to a Ford F150 pick up truck. Sonic had no clue what Manic had in mind but he trusted he knew what he was doing.

"You stay here. This won't take long."

No sooner had Manic got out of the car and shut the door he did a double-take. "Woah!"

"What?"

"There's a scratch down the whole side of this door!.. Damn, the front took a pretty good hit too... OH SHIT! LOOK AT THIS!"

Manic's sudden change in tone made Sonic exit the car as well. He noted his side also had many nasty blemishes, dents, and damage too. These had undoubtedly come from when they were weaving down the narrow alleyways and having to crash into things along the way. But at the back of the car a whole new form of damage was discovered.

Along the rear of the car were several small holes from the pistol rounds that had been shot at them. There was also a large cluster of wholes blown through the body just above the right taillight. Part of the red plastic of the light had been shot out by the buckshot rounds.

"Looks like those cops were better shots than we thought," Sonic stated.

"Nah, not really. These were just intimidation shots. If they really wanted to stop us they'd have gone for the tires or the windows."

"Speaking of which..."

Sonic knelt down to look at the tires. Although they still had tread left on them, they'd taken quite a beating in so far. "You think these things are gonna hold up?"

"I think so. Cars like these always get the most durable tires because they're only gonna be beat to hell anyway."

"The only thing I'm more concerned with is if Robuttnik's gonna take it now."

"He's gonna hafta. There aren't any others, remember," Manic pointed out as he started investigating the nearby equipment.

"Yeah, I know."

While Manic was rummaging around Sonic checked out the nose. From their repeated airborne episodes in the uptown the front underside had been scraped and bent up. Parts of the plastic grill had also been broken out and the headlight protectors were cracked too. There was also no telling how damaged the suspension was from all of their rough landings.

_"Damn..." Sonic thought to himself. "I reallt don't think 'Buttnik is gonna take this thing now... Maybe we should just give-"_

"AH-HA!"

Manic came strutting back with a length of black rubber hose around his shoulder. He made right for the pick-up they were parked next to, pried open the gas tank, and began feeding the tubing inside.

"Oh come on, Manic!"

"What?"

"There isn't a better way to get gas than this?"

"Hey, if you want to go pulling into a public gas station with the heat that's on us right now, be my guest."

With the tubing reaching into the gas tank Manic began sucking the gas up through the hose. He was grimacing slightly as he breathed and tasted the gas fumes.

"So what happens when the gas reaches the end of the tube?" Sonic asked.

Suddenly Manic's face contorted in extreme discomfort. Turning his head he spit out a mouth and a half full of gasoline. All he could do for a few seconds was cough and gag.

"Hack!... That's... ACK!... what happens!"

With gasoline still flowing from the end of the tube Manic fed it into Eleanor's tank. Since the gas tank opening was lower on the Mustang the siphoning process continued unaffected. With the tube now secure Manic took to spitting and hacking phlegm to get the taste to try to get the taste out of his mouth.

"What's it taste like?" Sonic asked sarcastically.

"Gas," Manic coughed. "Seriously, you don't know how bad this tastes."

"Nor do I really want to know."

Manic responded by flipping his brother off. Sonic only rolled his eyes, but it was then that something became apparent to him. Aside from the distant sounds of the city and Manic's gagging, there was an eerie calm considering they were directly adjacent to a construction site.

"Something's not right..."

"Oh will you chill already? You know how much distance we put between ourselves and them?"

"I'm telling ya bro, something here just isn't right. I mean, do you really think they'd give us enough time to gas up like this? Somebody should have been here by now..."

"Speaking of which, I think we're good to go."

Manic removed the length of tubing from both vehicles and tossed it aside. He motioned for Sonic to join him. There was still something that didn't seem right to him though as he got back into the driver's seat and got them going down the deserted freeway at a brisk pace.

"Looks like we got just a little over half a tank. Considering we were at less than a quarter I think we'll be good."

"..."

"Mobius to Sonic?"

"I heard you," Sonic half snapped. "I'm just..."

Coming around a slight bend in the roadway split up ahead. In between the two lanes was a lone pillar that at some point in time would support an overpass. At first glance there was nothing special about it, save for a human on top of it.

"See? There's a guy working up on that pillar."

Sonic glanced up and spotted the human, but something wasn't right. Whoever it was had on all black clothing, not bright safety gear. The tool the person had also looked incredibly suspicious, as did the position of both.

"What is he..." sonic started.

The slightest of glint came from exactly where the person was. Sonic's mind jumped back to two nights ago and a wave of terror went through his body. And before he could react it happened.

A loud impact rattled the entire car as a small, round hole ripped through the upper center of the windshield, obliterating the center mirror and shooting parts of plastic and glass all around the cabin of the Mustang. Some of these pieces hit the hedgehogs, making them flinch in pain and shock.

With the roadway more narrow here than on the super highways Sonic did not heave nearly as much to swerve. Subsequently another two shots hit the car before they passed the sniper's post. The first glanced off the A-Pillar on Sonic's side and shot off his mirror. The second snuck through the top of the fire wall just below the windshield. It kept going straight through and exited out of the glove compartment, between Manic's legs and under his seat.

Manic took the creator's name in vain while Sonic up-shifted aggressively to get them out of there. They didn't know that the sniper still had two shots left in the rifle and both were about to be taken. The first shot hit the C-Pillar on Sonic's side. The final shot blasted out the rear window and obliterated the silver 25th Anniversary medallion in the middle of the dashboard.

**"SONIC, WHAT THE FUCK!"** Manic screamed.

**"I TOLD YOU, DAMMIT! I FUCKING TOLD YOU SOMETHING WAS UP!"**

**"NOW'S NOT THE TIME, DUDE! GET US THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!"**

* * *

On another branch of the unopened freeway Vector and Espio were hastily trying to keep ahead of where Sonic's position was. He'd been kept up-to-date of this information by several under-cover officers who were in the area of the construction site and had been ordered to assist with the chase by Vector. So far all the information had been what was expected until reports from the first sniper came in.

"One Baker Eleven, our first sniper failed to stop the suspect. Permission for the SWAT team to engage."

It took a second for this information to sink into Vector's mind. When it did a whole new torrent of rage erupted from him. **"PERMISSION DENIED! CEASE FIRE IMMEDIATELY! I DIDN'T ORDER ANY SHOOTING!"**

"One Baker Eleven, I suggest you reconsider."

**"YOU RECONSIDER YOU FUCKING MORON! I DIDN'T AUTHORIZE ANY SHOOTING! NOW DO AS YOU WERE ORDERED AND STOP THAT SUSPECT! I WANT HIM ALIVE AND I WANT MY CAR IN ONE PIECE!"**

A mumbled and clearly offended confirmation of the orders finally made Vector throw his microphone aside. Clicking up another gear Vector pushed the BMW harder, Espio catching up soon after.

"You catch all that shit?" Vector asked on his own channel to Espio.

_"Loud and clear... I don't know what to make of this."_

"Neither do I, but what I can say is that there's something really strange going on with the S.S.P.D."

_"That is for certain."_

"Right. We'll worry about that later, though. Right now we just need to catch those hedgehogs and find out just what in the hell is going on."

Dropping the mike Vector glared out the front window. His attention was so forward-focused he didn't notice Ray clenching his hands nervously. The yellow Mobian had a strong hunch that the rogue police officers were Robotnik's doing. Even if they did do what Vector said for now they would still have an agenda later on.

* * *

"Dude... fuckin' déjà vu..."

"There's _no way_ that was planned," Sonic said in a stressed tone. "_No way_ would Vector authorize that."

"I'm not so sure about that. We both know he's pissed at us right now so there's no knowing what he-"

"GET DOWN!"

They'd come upon the SWAT teams that had taken up positions on the freeway. Blasting past the called off trap the hedgehogs could only look in their mirrors as the swarm of assault rifle and shotgun-wielding officers glared at them, a single shot never being fired.

"Woah..." Manic said with wide eyes.

"This is getting stranger by the minute."

"I'm with ya on that one. Kinda makes ya wonder what's next."

They didn't have to wait long for their answer. Coming around another bend there was a swarm of red and blue lights flashing about on the roadway in front of them. Even at their current distance it was apparent that the roadblock in front of them was three or four levels deep wit the roughly two dozen squad cars in front of them.

"Well... that's not good," Sonic said remarkably coolly.

"There's no way we can bust through that."

"And we're not supposed to. Look."

In front of the massive road block was a familiar black BMW and trio of detectives in front of it. About fifty feet from the blockade Sonic finally brought them to a stop. Not long after the SWAT teams in their large vans and SUV's blocked off the road behind them. Per Vector's order, they still held their fire.

Vector took a step forward, a megaphone in his hands. "You, in the Mustang! Shut off the engine and get out of the car! The ride is over!"

The hedgehogs had ducked inside the car. Vector saw this, deepening his frustration. "List up! You've already caused enough trouble! Not to mention you've racked up some serious offenses! Do you really want to keep adding to that list?"

"Vector, what are you waiting for? We have them!" Espio said in a loud whisper.

A single glare silenced the purple reptile. "What more to you hope to accomplish? You're fifty feet away and I can tell from here that car has taken a real beating! Do you really think it'll hold up to the abuse you're putting it through? If you stop now _you'll_ at least come out of this unharmed."

Although he couldn't see them, both hedgehogs made eye contact, both knowing their car was far from invincible. They could not help but wonder how much more Eleanor could take before she would give out.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! GIVE UP NOW, OR WE'LL BE FORCED TO TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES!" Vector shrieked, his voice cracking slightly.

Sonic checked the time. They had just over twenty minutes left before the 8:00 AM deadline. For the first time since the start of the operation, in the very beginning when they'd started assembling a team, Sonic felt as though their luck had run out. Surrounded by vehicles, officers, and enough firepower to start the next Great War, there was no escape. They were out of options and completely helpless.

"Now what, dude?"

"... I don't know..."

Manic's gut churned at his brother's answer. He could count on one hand how many times he'd heard him say that, and the few times he did it was truly when things were never going to be in their favor. Letting out a sigh Manic finally accepted the reality of the situation.

"Damn... I really thought we were going to do it..."

"Me too..."

"There's just no way we're gonna get this car outta here."

"Nope."

"Guess there's only one thing left to do then, huh?"

"Yup."

Both hedgehogs reached for their chaos emeralds. They were being forced to flee, even though neither wanted to. They both knew a whole list of new troubles were going to open up for not completing the job from Robotnik.

"On three?" Manic asked solemnly.

"On three." Sonic answered in a similar tone.

The brothers clenched their emeralds, preparing to go against all their training for never giving up and seeing things through.

"One..." Manic said.

"Two..." Sonic answered.

Both took a deep breath. "THREE!"

* * *

**_To be continued..._**


	31. Final Chase

**Author's Notes:**

Well... seven months it's been since I last posted an update on this three-year project. I can only say that a combination of college classes, job situations and my personal life has made life very difficult since I last updated back on September 12th.

During this long down time I received many new watches, reviews, and PM's on this story. There were a few PM's I received concerning whether the story was cancelled or not due to the lack of updates. I appreciate this concern and truly apologize for the delay. To put everybody's mind at rest, I have this to say:

**UNDER NO CONDITIONS IS THIS STORY CANCELLED. I HAVE STAYED WITH THIS PROJECT FOR OVER THREE YEARS AND I HAVE NO INTENTIONS TO ABANDON IT. I WILL ONLY CEASE WORKING ON IT IS WHEN IT IS COMPLETED, AND IT _WILL_ BE COMPLETED.**

That being said, let's wrap up the car chase so we can move on to some more exciting events that I have planned for this story.

This story has now broken the 300,000 word mark. Never did I think this fic would go on this long, but you all seem to be enjoying it so I'm not going to complain.

And as always, opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 31** - **The Chase Part 3 - Final Chase**

"..."

"..."

Both hedgehogs could only stare at each other in silence, their chaos emeralds glowing in their hands waiting to be called upon.

"You're not gonna say it, are ya dude?" Manic asked suddenly.

"Are you?" Sonic asked.

"Nope."

"Me neither."

Sonic and Manic grinned at each other in understanding. They both knew why they wouldn't do it. They'd never given up on anything in their lives. Time and time again they'd defied the odds to defeat undefeatable enemies and escape inescapable situations. In fact, they'd faced far greater odds before. Why this situation would suddenly be so insurmountable for them did not make sense.

* * *

Elsewhere everybody on scene was on edge. Nobody really knew what to expect nor what to do. There was no response from the occupants of the Mustang, yet nobody tried to move in on the car either. It was nothing but a waiting game and it was only a matter of time before one side would make a move.

"Come on, you bastards... Get out of the car..."

Ray and Espio looked up at Vector as he growled the sentence. The frustration on his face and in his eyes was clearly showing itself, as was the flaring of the reptile's nostrils.

"I think we've given them enough time. We should move in," Espio suggested.

"That might be what they're waiting for us to do!" Ray squeaked, hoping to buy time.

"Nobody is going in but me," Vector growled. "I'm giving those sons-a-bitches two more minutes."

Unseen by either detective, Ray had been clutching his jacket in his hand. This was a secret way to activate the transmit button. Everything that had just been said was heard by the hedgehogs.

* * *

"Two minutes, huh?" Sonic said rhetorically.

"You got a plan?"

"I think so."

_"Sonic, are you there?"_ said Sally on Sonic's communicator before he could answer.

"Where else would I be?" he answered sarcastically.

_"Where are you? I was following you on NICOLE's television feed before the helicopters were called off."_

"Well, we escaped for a bit on the 105 Freeway, then we got shot to pieces by a S.S.P.D. sniper. Now we're surrounded by the police, SWAT, and some of the Chaotix."

_"WHAT! I thought you said you were going to get yourselves out of this!"_

"We're working on it."

_"Sonic, for God's sake! Just teleport out of there! It's over!"_

"Nothing is over. Not for me, not for Manic, not for the Freedom Fighters."

_"Then what about the car? You know Robotnik will never accept it!"_

"We'll use this one to get away. We'll have to find another one to give to 'Buttnik."

"Dude, there aren't any other cars like this for miles!" Manic pointed out.

"Dammit! After all the weird shit that's happened the past few days I refuse to accept that!"

_"You two just shut up and get out of there! I'll find a replacement! I don't know how, but I will!"_

"You'd better hurry, Sal. We got about twenty minutes until the deadline."

_"You're telling me to hurry, Sonic? Ha! I'll show you what I got!"_

"You do that... Out."

"Get out of here? How are we gonna do that?"

The look in Sonic's eyes told Manic all he needed to know.

* * *

Vector had been counting down the seconds on his 24kt gold Rolex watch as the two minute window came to a close. While a final growl Vector lowered his arm and turned for his car.

"Enough is enough..." he said through his teeth.

The croc. retrieved his .44 magnum pistol from the backseat of his car, checked the magazine, then rejoined his teammates. Vector picked up the megaphone one last time.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! EXIT THE CAR _NOW!_"

There was still no movement from inside the car. Tossing the megaphone aside Vector raised his pistol and began to walk towards the Mustang.

"Wait! This is too dangerous!" Espio warned.

The leader of the Chaotix was undeterred. About half way there, roughly twenty five feet away, Vector froze in his track. The engine of the Mustang revved. Vector pointed his weapon at the car, his grip suddenly tightened and his finger tight on the trigger.

"Vector, get out of there!" Espio shouted.

The warning went unheard. Vector stared down the sights of his golden gun onto the silver Mustang. A sudden movement inside the car made him glance up from the gun. Sonic had sat up in the driver's seat, his hands viced onto the steering wheel. Another loud rev made the car twist with torque. Staring into the emerald eyes of the blue hedgehog Vector could read Sonic's mind and knew what was about to happen, a hunch only further confirmed by the grin on the tan muzzle of the fastest thing alive.

"Damn you..." Vector growled angrily through exposed, clenched teeth.

* * *

"Hi ho Silver... away!" Sonic chanted.

Sonic mashed the accelerator and dumped the clutch pedal. The tires squealed as they looked for traction and jumped forward. The small gap between Eleanor and Vector closed fast, as did the space between Espio as he sprinted to save his leader.

With the car still barreling down at Vector Espio made a leap and tackled his boss to safety, but not before he'd taken a single shot and launched a bullet through the grill of the Mustang. Blowing past them the two detective watched as once again their suspects were escaping.

"It hopeless! They'll never get past the road block!" Espio said confidently.

Moments later Vector glared angrily at his team mate. They'd just watched as the powerful car slowed and plowed it's way through the gaps in between the many units in the road block. Along the way the Mustang had clipped the front wheel of the motorcycle Espio had been riding, destroying the front end of two-wheeler and rendering it useless.

"You sure about that?" he growled angrily.

Siren after siren rang out as all the units on scene, S.S.P.D., SWAT, and undercover alike began the chase again. Vector roared in frustration as he sprinted back for his own car. He was so lost in his fury he didn't notice the police car approaching them from behind. It was another standard S.S.P.D. unit, a Dodge Charger. But behind the wheel and in the back seat were a pair of familiar faces.

"Vector, it's Mighty and Charmy!" Ray shrieked as Vector made it back to the BMW.

Vector glanced over to see the rest of his team in the new unit. "You and Espio go with them!" he ordered, getting into his car. "I'm done fucking around!"

Ray didn't have time to rebut as Vector performed a reverse 180 in pursuit of the chase. Mighty, behind the wheel of the Charger, pulled up along side of Ray, allowing him to get into the back seat with Charmy. Moments later Espi was in the Charger with the others as they tried to catch back up to the chase.

"This is awesome! My first high speed chase!" Charmy squeaked.

"So just what the hell is going on?" Mighty asked.

"We've been betrayed," Espio answered.

"Cool! That's means we're gonna make an arrest today!"

"By who, Espio?" Mighty asked.

"Sonic and Manic."

The was an extremely uncomfortable silence in the car. Even Charmy was in a state of genuine disbelief. Espio quickly updated the two about everything that had happened that morning. The only thing Ray could think to do was change the subject in a desperate attempt to help the hedgehogs.

"Hey, wait a sec! Where is the road going anyway?"

"Nowhere," Espio answered plainly.

"What do you mean?" Mighty asked.

"The Route the hedgehogs are on isn't finished."

"So that mean that Sonic and Manic can't escape at all?"

"That's right. And Vector will make sure of that."

* * *

Sonic and Manic had made it to the branch of the 105 Freeway that Vector and the S.S.P.D. had used to get ahead of them. Rather than go back the way the police had come, they choose to follow it the other way which would lead them closer to the suburbs. They had no idea about the road not being finished.

Although speeding to put as much room in between them and the two dozen plus units behind them, there was a certain caution to Sonic's driving. Eleanor had taken a few brutal impact when the rammed their way through the road block. Additionally, there was no knowing how much damage the bullet Vector had shot through the grill had done, though radiator damage was guaranteed.

_"Sonic, come in!"_

"I hear ya, Sal."

_"We got one!"_

Both hedgehogs flashed a look of surprise to one another. "Say what?"

_"Did either of you ever think to check the Station Square International Airport?"_

"Yeah, we did. It must have just come in," Manic answered.

_"It did. It hadn't even gone through customs yet."_

"Do you know how you're gonna get it?"

_"Get it? Me and Tails already have it!"_

Once again the brothers exchanged looks of surprise, this time slightly happier. "That was fast!"

_"With me and Tails working on it was nothing."_

"Here they come!"

In the car's remaining mirrors the sight of over two dozen pairs of flashing red and blue lights was catching up to them. "Sal, listen... The shit is gettin' pretty thick over here. We'll do everything we can to keep the attention on us so that you can get to the drop off and end this."

The was a pause from Sally given the slight change in Sonic's tone. She knew he was concerned. _"We'll make it. We're already on the highway. You just do what you have to and take care of yourselves._ _I'll see you soon, Sonic."_

"Same."

Looking through the shattered back window Sonic assessed their threat. The math was simple. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and had no chance of escape with all of the attention they had on them. Eleanor was also making the situation more troublesome. The steering, clutch and brakes were all acting up due to all the abuse the car had been through, not to mention the wind and exhaust noise was deafening due to the shot and shattered windows. Glancing down at the gauge cluster the temperature gauges had risen dramatically in the past few minutes, indicating there was indeed radiator damage. There was no knowing whether that bullet had caused more damage beyond that.

"So what's the plan?" Manic asked.

"Easy. Survive as long as we can and don't get caught. Once Sally's good we'll ditch this thing and get to safety."

"You think this thing is gonna last that long?"

Sonic didn't answer the question. Not only did he not want to think about it, he didn't have time to. The S.S.P.D. catching up fast. A few brave units accelerated away from the rest of the group to intercept them, and this time they weren't fooling around. A unit came up behind them and nudged the rear bumper as a warning. When that went unheard the unit delivered a stronger ram, making the rear wobble slightly.

"This is not good! We gotta lose these guys!"

"I'm working on it, bro!"

The damaged clutch reluctantly upshifted Sonic gained a bit of distance from the onslaught, but it wasn't going to do much good since there was no way off of the highway. Their only opportunity that was fast approaching was a gap in the highway where the dividing barrier had not yet been installed. In place was of the barrier was a line orange construction barrels.

With his attention on the gap Sonic didn't see that a S.S.P.D. unit was coming up fast on the right rear fender to perform a P.I.T. maneuver and spin them out.

"Dude, behind us!"

There was no time to look as the gap in the highway was now within reach. Turning left and speeding up the police unit missed by mere inches. The orange construction barrels went flying went the Mustang rammed them. The units immediately behind them slammed on their brakes with the intention of going back through the gap to pursue. This was a poor move.

Many of the trailing units had been trying to catch up and were going so fast that the sudden stop caught them off guard. What resulted was numerous units slamming on their brakes far too late and slamming into the stopped units. At least half of the group pursuing the chase got caught up in the collision.

The remaining units, including Vector and the Chaotix, stopped short of the pileup. Immediately the city's officers went to attend to the crash victims. Vector stepped out to glance over the crash very quickly, then with a roar of frustration sprinted to the nearest squad car blocking the crossover and, using a combination of adrenaline and his super-natural strength, pushed the disabled vehicle out of the way. Soon after Vector was back in his BMW and after the chase again. The remaining members of the Chaotix looked back and forth at each other, then followed through the gap after their boss.

"Vector, do you read me?" Mighty asked over the radio. "Vector?"

_"Keep your distance. I'm going in for the kill."_

The four members glanced at each other, wondering just what was going through the mind of their boss.

* * *

"Holy shit! Did you see that dude?"

"How long will it take you to remember I don't have any mirrors?" Sonic snapped.

Taking a quick look over his shoulder Sonic spied the accident, as well as the two Chaotix units on their tail. Even from the current distance he could tell that Vector was glaring at them. In fact, Sonic admitted it was perhaps the most sinister look he'd seen on the crocodile's face yet.

Just as Sonic was deciding to give the car more gas he noticed a vibration in the steering wheel, meaning there was something going on with the wheels of the car. Not only that, the engine temperature gauge was running very high, plus the oil gauge was hot too. That's when Sonic detected an odor.

"What's that smell?"

"You only just noticed that? It's oil. It's probably dripping on the engine."

"You mean we have an oil leak?"

"News flash! We took a .44 to the engine!"

Applying gas the Mustang seemed to respond fine, but just seconds later an abrupt shudder and a loud clunk from the engine made both hedgehog's hearts skip a beat. They could hear bits of metal vibrating inside the engine bay and see smoke coming from the engine.

"What the fuck was that!"

"We just threw a rod!" Manic answered.

"What the hell does that mean!"

"Long story short, it means this car's engine is falling to pieces!"

Another sudden impact made the pair get thrown forward in their seats. This time, however, the impact was external. Looking back the black BMW behind them had damage, mainly some crumpling of the nose and the front grill was shattered. While they were still looking they were rammed again, slightly harder than before. More damage adorned the BMW now, as well as the rear of Eleanor.

"Dammit!" Sonic shouted.

"Come on, dude! Get us out of here!"

"You just said this car is falling apart!"

"And it's gonna fall apart more if this keeps up!"

Another impact jolted the car violently. The sound of cars parts falling off, mainly the remaining pieces of tail light and parts of the rear bumper, meant they were running out of time.

"Alright, dammit! That's how you wanna play? Then let's juice!" Sonic stated rhetorically, up-shifting to the next gear.

Vector saw the Mustang lurch and begin to pull away. He too clicked the up-shift paddle to keep up. Instead of straight on rams, Vector tried to deliver an tap while turning slightly to induce a spin. After a try or two one such attempt made contact. The rear wheels of the Mustang lost traction for just a moment, enough to make it swing right and almost hit the center divider.

"When I stop them, you four surround them immediately. We're not going to miss this opportunity," Vector informed his colleagues on the radio.

_"Vector, please! This is getting to dangerous,"_ Might pleaded. _"We know they can't escape! Just back off until they run out of road."_

Vector 's grip on the microphone was so tight the plastic creaked. "Do as I say."

Throwing the mic aside Vector slammed the gas down and lodged his front bumper up underneath the rear of the Mustang. "YOU'RE FINISHED, YOU BASTARDS!"

Sonic struggled to keep Eleanor on the road as both hedgehog's threw a glance to each other. Even if they were successful in keeping the heat off of Sally, there was no good ending in store for them. Accelerating some they pulled away, but the vibrations in the steering wheel and the weak structural integrity of the car were blatantly obvious.

"Dude, we gotta bail right now! Any more and of this and she's gonna fall apart!"

"I know, I know! I just want to give Sally enough time to-"

Another loud slam hit the car, but it didn't throw them like before. Manic looked back, spotting Vector balancing a long, black object on the window of his car. He ducked back down again as another loud blast and impact hit them.

"What the hell was that?" Sonic yelled.

"It's called a shotgun!"

Judging by where the impacts were hitting, it was obvious Vector was trying to blast the rear tires. When that didn't work, he tried to move up to the sides of them, but Sonic swerved to block his path. Another blast hit the car, this time tearing into the exhaust and ripping its pipes apart, making the exhaust note even louder.

"Oh my God..." Sonic muttered, a twinge of fear creeping into his voice.

"OH SHIT! GET DOWN!"

Given the barrage of gunfire coming their way Sonic didn't questions his brother's advice. Behind them Vector reached for his final weapon. Balancing the fully automatic assault rifle on his mirror Vector unleashed several bursts at the speeding Mustang. In reality a good number of them missed since the rapid fire easily through the aim of the weapon off. The select few that did hit traveled deep into the car, a few of which made it inside and missed the hedgehogs by inches.

With a sudden hard click the rifle stopped firing. With a howl of anger Vector pulled the jammed weapon back into the car and threw it into the back seat. Glaring forward a single thought crossed his mind.

_"Enough is enough..."_

Inside Eleanor both hedgehogs noted the pause in the gunfire. Sonic was first to look up and see that Vector was no longer brandishing a weapon. He did seem to be trying to get into a strategic position, but the sound of a zipper next to him caught his attention.

"Manic, what are you-"

"I'm out of here!" Manic stated as he retrieved his green chaos emerald from his fanny pack. "I've had enough of this shit! You stay here and die!"

"That's the thanks I get for everything I've done for you!" Sonic shouted.

"You're supposed to be saving my ass, not getting it shot!"

"I'm supposed to be fixing the mess that you made!"

"Like you have room to talk! Look at what you got us into!"

"This started with _your_ idea!"

"And it's gonna finish with it! CHAOS CON-"

Even at the high speed they were driving, Sonic's right hand shot and and wrenched onto his brother's wrist. For the first time in a while Sonic glared at Manic in disapproval, perhaps more so than in any of the preceding days.

"If you bail now then you're on your own."

It was an ultimatum, and Manic knew it. He opened his mouth to say something. It might have been to say he was sorry, perhaps to say chaos control, or possibly to continue the argument. Whatever the case, he didn't get the chance to finish the sentence.

Sonic shifted his gaze from Manic to one very angry crocodile. In the midst of their argument Vector had taken advantage of their lapse of attention and pulled up along side of them. Before he could react, Vector rammed them on the right side. Sonic was thrown back by the hit and had to let go of Manic regain control. Being on the side that got hit, Manic was thrown even harder, so much so that the green chaos emerald went flying from his hand and into the back seat.

By now even the level-headed blue hedgehog was tired of being on the offensive. Throwing Vector an enraged glare, Sonic slammed the black BMW back. In that moment Sonic had broken his own rule of not harming or attacking anybody in trying to complete the mission. Even worse, it was the first time he'd given Vector a reason to use force back.

Regaining control, Vector gave Sonic a look that was indescribable. It was a look that said he no longer cared what he had to do to stop them both. A flash of gold appeared in Vector's left hand and pointed directly at the side windows of Eleanor. Sonic's heart stopped when he realized what was about to happen.

Sonic pulled his brother down in the same second as the chuck of copper-encased lead shot straight over their heads through both windows, spreading a cascade of glass shards over them. Unseen by them Vector tossed the now empty Desert Eagle aside and jerked the wheel hard left to ram them again. This time, however, he did not retreat. The time had come for him to go in and make his move.

With Sonic focused on trying to keep the Mustang under control he didn't notice Vector standing up from his seat and swiftly lean over into the Mustang. Manic cried out in fear as a sudden violent pull lifted him up from his seat. Sonic looked up in time to see Vector pulling Manic back towards his own car by his jacket. Sonic reached over in time to grab one of his brother's legs while keeping one hand on the wheel. This left Manic tangling dangerously between the two cars, both doing triple-digit speeds.

"DON'T LET GO OF ME!" Manic shrieked in fear, fighting to get free.

"VECTOR, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs.

"YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE, HEDGEHOG!"

Vector turned right slightly to try and pull Manic away, but Sonic matched the move, still keeping his grip on his tried desperately to pull his brother back into the car. With only one hand on the wheel this was no match against Vector's stronger grasp. Leaning just about all the way into the passenger seat, Sonic could barely hold onto the steering wheel as he fought to hold onto Manic.

"VECTOR, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A CRIMINAL! LIKE YOU'RE PATHETIC-EXCUSE-FOR-A-LIFE CRIMINAL BROTHER HERE!"

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" Manic shouted.

"SHUT UP! YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!"

"DAMMIT, LET HIM GO! THIS IS CRAZY!"

Vector responded by pulling Manic in a bit closer and put him in a choke hold. As much as Manic tried to pry himself free it was no use.

Ever since Manic had been pulled from the car Sonic had been focusing on that rather than the road. For the first time he looked back to see what was coming. His mind went blank in that moment, save for the sight before him. Up ahead he could see the end of the highway, as well as all the warning signs and barricades just before it. At their speeds they'd be there in less than a minute.

"THE ROAD IS GONNA END!"

The only response was was sideways glare from the reptile, accompanied by a slight grin.

"AND SO IS YOUR RIDE!"

Sonic had figured it out. Vector had known all along about the road and knew that he was always going to win in the end. There was going to be no way to escape this time, at least in a way that would make Sonic the winner. There was only one thing he could do. Spying the glow of the green chaos emerald in the back seat, Sonic switched hands on Manic and grabbed the emerald. The steering wheel was left unattended.

"HEY, VECTOR!"

Both Vector and Manic looked up for see Sonic palming the green emerald. Fury embossed the croc's face, but a relieved grin crossed Manic's. They were going to teleport to safety after all.

Sonic gave his signature wink and grin. "Adios, Vector! CHAOS CONTR-"

A loud blast shook the Mustang as its front left tire blew. Instantly the car veered off to the left. The motion was so sudden that Sonic lost his grip on Manic. Despite trying to regain control, at triple-digit speeds the car went sideways and transitioned into a violent spin.

Feeling Manic starting to fall to the roadway below, Vector wrenched the dangling hedgehog up and partially into the cabin. As Vector was applying heavy brakes to keep from crashing himself, they both watched as the silver Mustang clipped an iron support beam that had been left propped at an angle, flipping the car onto its roof. With the brakes now useless and the roof crushed in slightly, Sonic was trapped as the car smashed through the barriers and fell from the incomplete highway. A loud thud indicated the fall was over.

"SOOONIIIC!" Manic shrieked, finally freeing himself from Vector's grasp and running for the edge of the bridge.

Manic didn't get far. Only a few feet from the car Vector body slammed Manic to the ground struggling to put handcuffs on him. Behind them the squad car with the rest of Team Chaotix finally pulled up behind them. Seeing the struggle, Espio sprang from the car and rushed to aid his boss. Catching Manic off guard, Espio struck the back of the hedgehog's head, knocking him out cold.

"We got him," Espio said with a tone of accomplishment.

"What's this _we_ shit? I got him," Vector corrected in a threatening tone.

"I suppose you're right," Espio admitted quietly.

"You're _damn right_ I am."

"**Oh my God, Vector! Come here! Quick!**"

The urgency in Mighty''s tone caught both officer's attention. Dragging Manic with them, they joined Mighty, Charmy, and Ray at the edge of the road. About thirty feet below in a ravine Eleanor had landed on its roof and lay in silence as a small fire burned around the engine.

"That thing can go up any second! We have to get down there and save Sonic before-"

Mighty never finished his sentence. The leaking gas and oil finally ignited and the whole car was engulfed in flames. A column of black smoke wafted up as the frame began to char and the tires melt.

The entire team of detectives looked on in silence, knowing there was no way anybody could survive a crash and fire like that. Then somebody let out a whistle in amazement.

"Damn, V. Hope you got some good insurance."

All five detectives looked up in disbelief at the uninjured blue hedgehog, the green chaos emerald still clutched in his right hand. He only stood there with a smirk.

"Don't worry, though. It'll probably buff right out."

"You arrogant son-of-a-bitch!" Vector growled, his grip nearly piercing Manic's jacket.

"Now is that the kinda language and officer of the laws uses when-OOF!"

Unseen by Sonic, Espio had turned invisible and performed an aerial jump kick to Sonic's chest, knocking him to the ground and sending the green emerald into the air. Espio caught it as it fell back to the earth, revealing himself once it was in his hand. The chameleon only grinned at the stunned hedgehog.

"Restrain him," Vector ordered at Mighty and Charmy.

The two detectives slowly, almost reluctantly started towards Sonic when he jumped to his feet. This stopped them, but Espio took a fighting stance. Vector, however, took the most extreme action of all. He held the still unconscious Manic at the edge of the bridge. This shocked everyone around, even Espio.

"Surrender now hedgehog, or I'll drop him."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic answered, keeping his cool.

"Don't even think about trying anything stupid. I'll let him go, I swear to fucking God."

"I don't think God appreciated that," Sonic said with a chuckle.

Vector held Manic a bit closer to the edge. Sonic glanced over, keeping a straight face but with a rapidly increasing heartbeat. "What's it gonna prove? That you're willing to do something that stupid to get what you want?"

"As if YOU have any room to speak about being stupid! You've torn this town to shreds with this little escapade of yours!"

"Do anything to my brother and I'll tear _you_ to shreds," Sonic warned.

"Watch you tome, hedgehog. You're in enough trouble already and I suggest you start making better decisions."

"Funny, I could say the same thing to you."

The sounds of approaching sirens meant the S.S.P.D. was finally catching up to them. They'd be there in mere minutes.

"I'll repeat my ultimatum once more. Either you-"

"I heard you the first fucking time."

"Then what will it be, hedgehog?"

Sonic glanced to Ray, who all along had been standing beside Vector. "Hell of a morning, huh Ray?"

The yellow squirrel was caught off guard by the question. "U-u-u-uhh... Uh-huh!"

"Did you think it would ever be like this?"

"U-u-u-uhh... Un-uh!"

"You wanna do something for me?"

"W... w... what?"

"Show V how reliable a team mate you really are."

For a moment there was total confusion. Nobody had understood Sonic's cryptic message, save for Sonic himself and, with luck, Ray. Taking advantage of the lack of concentration by Vector, Ray shoved his boss forward. Having not expected such an act, Vector forgot to hold onto Manic. Ray caught the hedgehog before he fell over and pulled him safely away from the edge of the road.

At the same time Sonic spun up a quick whirlwind, sending the reptile flying through the air. He was caught by his teammates, but his massive weight knocked all of them to the ground. When they all looked back up they saw Sonic standing by Ray and Manic's side, his blue chaos emerald in his hand.

Mighty was shocked out of his mind. "Ray! What are you doing! Why did you..."

A ferocious growl from the crocodile stopped Mighty cold. All of the anger that Vector had felt and shown before was now trumped by his current state. It was clear to him now what was going on.

"You lying... _deceiving_... _**manipulating**_... _**TRAITOR!**_" he bellowed.

Ray had lost all ability to speak and Manic was still unconscious. This left Sonic to answer. "He did what he had to. Same for Manic, and same for me."

"Ray... you... we're against us the whole time?" Mighty asked his long-time friend incredulously.

"M... Migh... I... I wasn't..." was all he could answer.

"We were never against any of you, guys. We still aren't. We're just taking a different angle."

"And what angle is that?" Espio asked.

"This is not my style, but... I'm not going to tell you that. The less you know, the better you'll be. You're just gonna have to trust us for now."

The sirens of the police cars was growing dangerously close. Sonic took a hold of his brother in his free hand. Given that Ray had blown his cover, he grabbed onto Sonic's arm as well, prepared to go with them. Sonic acknowledged this with a simple nod. Looking back at Vector Sonic he did his best to ignore the look of death the reptile was giving him.

"V... I know anything I say right now isn't going to matter, but I never intended for it to be like this. But I promise you things will work out in the in the end. Just know this... we're not your enemy."

"Anybody... who commits the crimes that _you_ have... **IS AN ENEMY!**"

With a final all-out lunge, Vector tried to catch the trio, but with a quick chant and a flash of blue they were gone. Vector's leap only landed him on the pavement. The rest of his team joined his side.

"Vector? Are you okay?" Charmy asked innocently.

They received no answer as Vector got to his feet, eyes pinched shut, fists clenched and trembling with anger. He finally looked up when the siren of a particular high-speed red squad car. Sam Speed was on the scene.

"Detective! What the hell happened! Where's the suspects?"

Vector motioned his head towards the smoke column. The officer looked over the burning Mustang. His shoulders slouched first in disappointment, then tightened in anger.

"You stupid son-of-a-bitch! Was just stopping them not good enough for you! We'll be lucky if we can identify the bodies by dental records, if they even exist!"

Vector only glared at speed for a minute, then looked to his team. "Headquarters. Now."

There was no emotion in his voice as as spoke. Turning his back on everybody, Vector walked for his beat-up BMW M5. "Hey, where the hell do you think you're going! This is a crime scene!"

"You said this was your chase. You deal with it."

"Detective, I 'm ordering you to stay on scene! I will personally report your poor behavior to the S.S.P.D. if you do not!"

Getting into his car, Vector only flipped off the officer. Sam looked to the rest of the team for an answer, but none of them knew what to say. That's when he spotted Espio with the green chaos emerald.

"So what's with the emerald? Were they jewelry thieves or something?"

Espio motioned for the team to get to their own squad car. "None of your business," the chameleon answered plainly.

Walking to Vector they endured another rant from Speed, but he did little to stop them from leaving. Little was said as the detectives left the scene, driving past the onslaught of S.S.P.D. units that were headed for the crash site. Most of what was said came from Mighty.

"I don't get it... I just don't get it... Shadow... Rouge... Manic... Sonic... and now Ray... What's going on around here?... What don't we know about?..."

"Much, I'm afraid," Espio answered plainly.

"Too much," Charmy added.

"Not for long," Vector suddenly answered. "Whatever all of this is, I will know before this day ends. And I will see that justice is served..." he trailed off. "My way."

* * *

At the drop-off Sonic had not been met with good news. With just over five minutes to go before the deadline, Sally and Tails had not yet shown up nor had they contacted him via their communicators. In fact, Sonic couldn't reach them or anybody for that matter. Additionally, Manic was still unconscious from the assault on him. Ray was desperately trying to shake him awake, but it was no use.

"He's not waking up! D-d-do you think he's..."

"No, he's not dead. But knowing Espio he probably gave him a pretty good hit."

"Having a run in with the authorities?" a very red-eyed Snively asked from behind them.

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Sonic answered confidently.

"Hmph. You won't be able to say that for long."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Look around you, hedgehog. In just twelve hours you've done enough damage to destroy everything you've done in your life. Good luck explaining it all when you're finally discovered. And trust me, you will be discovered."

"So is that the plan? I do all this shit, and you guys call the news on me?"

"Of course not. That would be too easy and the fun would end too soon. No, hedgehog, sooner or later this secret will come out, and when it does, your life will be over, whether you like it or not."

Snively walked away in a rather jaunty fashion. Ray noticed the look on Sonic's face, one of deep concern. "Don't listen to him, Sonic! He's just trying to get to you! We're gonna be alright!"

This time, Sonic couldn't bring himself to embrace the idea. Looking around he realized everything he'd done. In just a few days he'd committed so many acts that the world would never forgive him for. From the grand theft operation and dealing with Nack, to betraying long-time allies and putting others lives at risk. How he'd convinced himself, let alone all of his closet friends, to do all of these things was beyond him.

Standing inside the warehouse Sonic gazed upon the horde of ninety-nine vehicles the once proud Freedom Fighters has so shamefully stolen in the past twelve hours. Everything from museum pieces and one-of-a-kind oddities, to off-the-showroom products and people's prized personal possessions, they'd stolen them all. In more than one way they'd done the unthinkable. On one hand, they'd actually managed to steal all those cars in one night. On the other hand, they'd actually allowed themselves to think that this was somehow the only way to solve their problem.

Glancing down at the time, there was four minutes left until the deadline, and counting. There was no sign of Sally. No communication to them, no approaching engines, no assurance that they were even still on their way.

Only one thing was going through Sonic's mind. _"The only way to justify this is that we finish what we set out do to."_

Staring at the soon-to-be-closed doorway of the warehouse and lost in his own mind, Sonic's thoughts turned to words. "Where are you, Sally?"


	32. An Unexpected Turn of Events

**Author's Notes:**

**Okay, here were are again with the next update. The unfortunate delay was due to my job, some minor health issues and my failure to plan out this part of the story ahead of time. **

**On that note I want to say that with the rest of this story pretty much figured out it's my guess there'll be about four or five more chapters. I'm going to try to keep them at a reasonable length so I can get them out quicker. In particular this chapter I cut off early so I could give you an update as well as build a bit of suspense for the upcoming finale chapters. **

**Finally, all opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.**

* * *

**Chapter 32** – An unexpected Turn of Events

**7:58 AM**

Unlike how the week had been going, the past two minutes didn't feel like hours, but rather seconds. During that time Manic had finally regained consciousness. He sat on the floor of the warehouse as he got his composure back with Ray by his side. Sonic still stood fixated on the door to the building, still waiting for Sally to pull in at an second.

"Almost out of time, hedgehog."

Sonic hadn't even noticed that Robotnik had decided to show himself at the last second. Sonic only sent him a glare to tell him he wasn't buying into his act.

"Where could they be?" Ray squeaked.

"Hey Sonic... you think they got..." Manic trailed off.

"No. _No_ way." he answered, the confidence rising in his voice.

"And what makes you so sure?," Robotnik taunted.

"You forget, 'Buttnik. It was me, Sally and the others that took you down before. We don't fail when it comes to kicking your ass."

"Oh, is that so? Well, I guess we will have our answer in the next ninety seconds, won't we?"

Sonic shrugged off the comment, but looking back at Manic a slight jolt went through his gut. Manic's eyes gave away the fear that was welling up inside of him. He knew as well as Sonic did that his life was dependent on the job being completed. If they failed, it would either mean a painful and permanent trip back to the roboticizer, or try to run and get caught by one of Robotnik's connections somewhere down the road and end up back at the roboticizer anyway. Or, in the worst case scenario, end up dead, which in many ways was much like being roboticized anyway.

There was an uneasy silence inside the warehouse. Sonic had fully expected that within that time they'd be met with the sight of Sally arriving in the final required car. Yet, with each passing second, the possibility of that happening was becoming less possible.

**7:59 AM**

All along the thought had been that the job would have been completed long before this point in time. With all of their careful planning, teamwork and diligence the feeling had been that they could get done with time to spare. If that was still going to happen, it wasn't going to be by much. Suddenly Robotnik strolled over to a switch on the wall of the warehouse.

"I think it's safe we can close up now."

With a flick of the switch the door jolted and slowly started to lower from the top of the doorway. There was still thirty seconds left, but at the rate the door was closing it would seal off the entrance before that.

"Well hedgehog, I finally have the pleasure of not only knowing you failed, but I get to see it and call you out on it."

"In your dreams," Sonic said confidently.

"Defiant to the last, eh hedgehog? Well, it doesn't matter anymore anyway. Do you have anything you'd like you say on behalf of your soon-to-be-roboticized brother?"

A sudden, uncontrollable twitch went through Sonic's ears as his mind spun through its rolodex of witty comments, trying to find the best quip for the occasion. Over the sound of the closing door he heard a very welcome sound. He turned around just in time to see a silver Saleen Mustang S302E Sterling Edition do a power-slide under the closing door, missing it by a hair's length. The spinning car came to a stop with the tail end facing them, a final engine rev blasting them wtih several decibels of exhaust notes. Given the timely arrival of delivery one-hundred, there was only one thing Sonic could think to say, and it was something he'd said countless times already during the week. Sonic looked back at Robotnik with his signature gin.

"_Not_ gonna happen."

Robotnik wanted to retort, but was interrupted by the sound of both of the Mustang's doors flying open and running behind him.

"Did we make it?" Sally and Tails asked in unison.

**8:00 AM**

A series of beeps made the Freedom Fighters all glance down at their communicators. It was the top of the hour, just mere seconds after making the final delivery. It suddenly dawned on them what that meant. They all looked to Robotnik. A certain joy ran through Sonic when he turned to see the rotund dictator scowl in defeat.

"Well done... hedgehog."

There was a second of silence, as smiles crossed everybody's faces and then, inevitably, the celebrations began. The five Mobians lets out whoops and hollers of joy, exchanged high-fives and knuckle-bumps, and chanted phrases reiterating that they'd succeeded in completing their mission. Manic was being mobbed by Tails and Ray as he let out a roar of relief, knowing he was now in the clear. Sonic went to join in, but suddenly had a pair of arms wrap tightly around him.

"We did it!" Sally said, a slight tear in her voice.

"You're damn right we did," Sonic answered, returning the hug.

"Oh my God... I can't believe we _actually_ did it!"

"That sounds a tad suggestive."

"Oh, shut up!," Sally retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Make me."

"Make you?"

"_Make me_."

"Fine."

Sally pulled Sonic into a deep kiss. Lost in the moment, Sonic willingly obliged, wrapping his arms around her. Caught up in the moment they neglected to remember where they were. When they did remember this crucial fact a certain feeling of unease ran through them. They turned to see their colleagues staring at them wide-eyed.

"Uhhhh, _dude_... You wanna tell us what just happened here?" Manic asked.

Sonic only shrugged. "I don't know."

"I think I know what just happened," Tails said slyly.

"Well look at Mr.-Know-It-All," Sonic teased.

"Sonic... does this mean you and Sally are-" Ray trailed off.

"Happy this mission is over? Absolutely. _Speaking of which_," Sonic said as he turned to face Robotnik. "You and me gotta talk. Right _here_, right _now_."

Snively looked up to Robotnik out of concern. Surprisingly, Robotnik nodded out of politeness. "Very well, hedgehog. I think you've earned your right to speak."

"First off, this thing with my brother is over. _Done_. **_Finished_**. You got that? You got your cars, I get my brother."

"That was the deal and, albeit only by a few seconds, you fulfilled our end of the bargain in time."

"Second, we're through doing favors for you. I don't give a damn what random tasks you have sitting around or what you're willing to pay us for them, this is _not_ the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Your loss, but very well."

"And finally, I want to give you a business proposition."

Robotnik's eyebrow raised slightly in response. "A proposition for me? _Really_... Tell me."

"In exchange for the ten million you were going to pay us, you give me Antoine."

Sonic kept his eyes locked with Robotnik's. The evil doctor's eyebrows arched in disagreement. "I don't ever recall saying that Antoine was eligible to be free, let alone for sale."

"You've put Antoine through enough. Ten million for his freedom. It's a fair deal."

"What part of he's not for sale is not clear to you?"

"What part of I don't care what you say don't _you_ understand? I'm not leaving here without Antoine."

"Swearing now? That's not good business etiquette and I'm feeling offended."

"Really? You want to talk about feeling? Think about everything we've done over the past few days. We've broken the law as well as our own principles, put our lives and reputations on the line, and we've overall caused mayhem and destruction with our actions. That alone should be worth enough to you, let alone knowing that rather than having to pay us you keep your money and you lose the burden of having to keep somebody against their will."

Everybody was stunned by the drastic offer. The Freedom Fighters exchanged glances with each other, then back to the stand-off between the long-time enemies. After a minute Robotnik crossed his arms.

"You sure know how to drive a hard bargain, hedgehog. I'm impressed."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I think you've convinced me that your offer has value to it."

Sonic stayed stone-faced. "That's not good enough. I want it straight: Yes, or no. Pick one."

Robotnik chuckled eerily. "I like your style, hedgehog. You're better a business than you know... Yes. That sounds fair."

A collective feeling of relief went through everybody. Now they had truly succeeded in their mission. Everybody had been saved and they'd all gotten out alive. They couldn't have asked for more.

"Guys, I'd say that's a wrap. Our mission's done," Sonic stated, received various responses of agreement. "Now Robotnik, if you don't mind I think we'd all like to go. After everything that's happened we're all a little bit tired and maybe a little bit wired."

"Aw, leaving so soon?"

"There is no such thing as too soon with you, 'Buttnik. We're juicin' out of here right now."

"May I make one final request?"

This time is was the Freedom Fighters who we caught off guard. "I thought I told you we weren't doing any more favors for you," Sonic sated firmly.

"I only ask that you stay around a minute longer. After everything that you've done there is something that I want to give to you for your services rendered."

"You can keep it. We don't want it."

"Oh, I think you do. And after all, I never shook hands on our deal before. If you allow me to do this last thing, I will will hold true to my promises."

Robotnik stretched out a hand. Sonic was highly reluctant to shake, but slowly and cautiously took Robotnik's hand and shook it.

"There. Happy, now?"

"Indeed. Snively, bring in my gift to the Freedom Fighters."

Snively nodded with a weird grin and walked to the back of the warehouse, exiting through a rear door. Robotnik looked back to the others. "I do think you'll like this. I have to admit I'm rather impressed that I thought of it."

"I'm warning you, 'Buttnik. If you try anything funny right now you're gonna pay."

"Relax, hedgehog. My gift to you is genuine. I just can't wait to see your reaction."

Only moments ago the Freedom Fighters felt jubilant and ready to celebrate. Now, with this new turn of events, they didn't know how to feel. There was no knowing if they were walking head-long into a trap, or if what Robotnik was talking about was in fact something good. Whatever the case was, Sonic kept his hand in his pocket on the chaos emerald, ready to use it to escape at the first indication of danger to any of them.

Slowly the time ticketed by, each minute as long as possible to go by. By 8:12 AM Sonic's fuse ran out. "_Oh, come **on!**_ Any year now, 'Buttnik! I have much better things to do than sit here waiting for some lame-ass gift from you!"

"Patience, hedgehog. I'm sure Snively should be here any soon... Ahh, here he is now, in fact."

The sound of an opening door had stopped Robotnik's sentence. Snively came into the warehouse pushing a large handcart with some sort of large large canvas bag on it. The Freedom Fighters present seemed a bit baffled as to what it could possibly be.

"To you hedgehog, Princess Sally, and fellow Freedom Fighters, I present to you my gift."

Both evil-doers suddenly adopted sinister looking grins. Snively unzipped the large bag and pushed the contents from the rear of it. All five of the Mobian's blood ran cold when a battered and bruised body suddenly fell out of the bag. It wasn't just any body. It was a brown and tan coyote with bright blonde hair.

"ANTOINE!"

Sonic and Sally were by their friend's sides in a second, followed closely by the others. Antoine wasn't moving. Sonic glared at Robotnik, but suddenly Antoine groaned as he regained consciousness.

"Ant! Buddy, can you here me!" Sonic asked as he shook Antoine's shoulder.

Slowly, almost painfully, Antoine opened his eyes. A look of sadness filled his eyes. "Soneek... Je suis désolé"

Although not fluent in Antoine's language, Sonic did know that Antoine had just said he was sorry. "What are you talking about? What happened to you?"

"C'était lui... C'était lui..."

"He said it was him," Sally translated.

Sonic whipped around again, looking ready to kill Robotnik. "What did you do to him? How the hell did you even find him! And _why_ did you do that!"

"I didn't do anything."

"Oh yeah? Well if you didn't, then who did?"

"I deed."

The voice sounded identical to Antoine's, but it came from across the warehouse. What they saw horrified them. There was Antoine, dressed in the garb he'd been in all night. And yet, next to them was Antoine, battered and bruised.

"What in God's name..." Sally said in fright.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" Sonic said in total disbelief.

"Hmhmhmhm..." Robotnik chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Sonic threatened.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that I've learned something very interesting from all this."

"And what's that?"

"I can play my cards better than you."

Robotnik, Snively and "Antoine" all held a small device over their faces. In an instant Sonic recognized them as gas masks. He reached for the chaos emerald in his pocket, but before he could open his mouth a loud hissing noise surrounded them. Looking up he could just see a mist coming from the sprinkler system running on the crossbeams of the warehouse. It was a heavy mist that fell fast upon them. When it did the effect was swift. Suddenly Sonic felt drowsy, more so than he had just from the night's events. Dropping his his knees he fought to stay conscious. Behind him he heard moans and saw his friends pass out. Sonic used every ounce of his ability left to throw Robotnik a angry stare.

"Nighty-night, hedgehog."

"You... bastard..."

Finally the aerosol sedative knocked the blue hedgehog out. Robotnik motioned for the only awake members to step outside. Once outside they took a breath of the non-tainted air.

"That went beautifully, sir," Snively commented.

"Indeed it did, dear nephew. Now we can move onto the "Round Up."

"Yes, sir. I'll get right on that."

"Thank you, Snively. Oh, and thank you too. That could not have gone any better."

"Zat eez an under-statement."

"I must say you've proven to be a most reliable asset. I will make sure to pay you handsomely for this."

"Zat would be many appreceeateed."

"I'm sure it would. Now, if you don't mind I have some business to attend to. Please feel free to make yourself comfortable. I'm sure you must be exhausted from the past few days. I'll wake you when we're ready for you"

"Oui. Merci, Dr. Robotneek."

* * *

Across town the remaining Chaotix detectives had made haste back to their headquarters via Route 101. Not much had been said on the way as the shock of everything that had happened that morning sunk in. Everything from the events at Vector's house and the train station, to the car chase and all of its events, right up to Ray's betrayal and the failure to bring in a single suspect. The four of them knew that there was going to be a lot of explaining to do and even then there was no knowing if it would do any good.

They were all sitting at their main table, nobody knowing exactly what to do with all the now useless evidence lay scattered in front of them.

_"Dispatch to Detective Vector, come in Detective."_ Vector only glanced down at the radio sitting on the table. _"Dispatch to Detective Vector, please respond."_

"Are you gonna answer?" Charmy asked innocently.

Vector growled to answer. Charmy cowered slightly, giving him a slightly angry glare.

_"Dispatch to Detective Vector, do you copy!"_

With a quick hiss and a swipe of his arm Vector turned off the police radio.

"Vector, what are you-" Espio began.

"SILENCE!"

For a few minutes there was silence as nobody had ever seen Vector do that. Finally Mighty had grown tired of all the nonsense and was going to try to make sense of the situation.

"Vector, with all due respect... I think it's about time we start thinking about what we're going to do next."

"And you think I haven't been thinking about that?" Vector answered surprisingly quick.

"Well, you've neglected to tell us much since we came into this situation. Espio filled us in some, but surely you both must know more. We're not going to get anywhere unless you allow us to help."

Vector relaxed slightly at his teammate's suggestion, but he was far from level-headed. "I agree with you, but pardon me if I'm not a bit over-loaded right now. Aside from everything those bastard hedgehogs pulled off, but I'm going to be in a world of shit with the S.S.P.D. Don't forget, we're under contract with them. A failure like this is not going to go over well with them."

"But you know we're going to have to go to them sooner or later."

"I'm aware of that, but as I said I need a bit of time to think right now. If I go in there right now I may very well-"

The sound of vehicles caught their attention. Charmy flew over to a window to investigate. A trio of S.S.P.D. squad cars surrounded them, their lights on.

"It's a bunch of police officers! And their lights are on!"

The remaining detectives were surprised to hear this, but nothing prepared them for the sudden knock on the door and what happened next.

"Detective Vector?" asked somebody from outside.

"Who the hell do you think it is?"

"You're wanted at the S.S.P.D. Headquarters. _Now_."

"Am I under arrest?"

"Yes."

The four flashed each other a glance. "On what charge?"

"Aiding and abetting a fugitive, public endangerment, multiple counts of endangering a police officer, misuse of police authority-"

"Woah woah woah, hold on a second! Where is all of this coming from?"

"You're suspects in the recent major grand theft auto operation."

A certain uneasy feeling spread throughout the entire car. Glancing in his mirrors real quick Vector made a snap decision. From inside a drawer he pulled out a flash-bang grenade.

"Vector, what are you doing!" Mighty pleaded quietly.

"Trying to buy us a little time."

"How is this possible?" Espio asked.

"I don't know, but given how screwed up I'm not surprised something like this could happen."

"What are we gonna do!" Charmy cried.

"There's nothing we can do," Vector admitted in slight defeat. "There's no getting away from this."

"No! I refuse to give up that easily!" Espio exclaimed. "There must be a reason to all of this! Somewhere there's an answer."

"You're right, Espio... That's why you're gonna find it."

Espio was taken aback. "What are you saying?"

"You've done more this case in the past few hours then the rest of us have over the past week. I'm... we're counting on you now, Espio."

It occurred to Espio how much responsibility had just fallen onto his shoulders. "Vector...I-"

"There's no time to argue, Espio. This is your case now. It's up to you to solve it."

Without another word Vector grabbed his golden pistol off the table and inserted the magazine into it. By now the police outside were getting ready to break the door down. Vector stood at the ready. He pulled the pin from the flash-bang, meaning his grip was the only thing from keeping it from going off.

"When they breach I'm gonna toss this thing. If anybody slips through then hold them off. We need to get Espio out of here. Questions?"

There weren't any. Several shotgun blasts ripped through the door, blowing off it's hinges. The moment the police entered Vector threw the flash-bang.

"ESPIO, RUN!"

Realizing there was no more time to waste Espio sprinted for the back of the buidling. As he exited the back door he heard the flash-bang go off as well as shouts from both his team and the invading officers. IN a flash he'd climbed the back fence to the property and was running full speed down an alleyway. He'd only gotten a few blocks away when an S.S.P.D. unit pulled in behind him and in front of him. In a flash Espio looked around for an escape and found a fire-escape hanging down on a building that was being renovated. Using every ounce of training and strength he ran up a staircase below the fire-escape and kicked off of a small ledge in between the steps and escape. It was a close call, but he grabbed a hold. Pulling himself up he ran up a couple of flights of steps to the first window he found, smashed it and entered the abandoned complex on the second floor.

Espio had to take a moment to catch his breath. Outside he could hear shouts which were surely the officers planning to come in after him. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard footsteps coming up the staircases of the building, as well as the sounds of firearms being readied to shoot. Suddenly one team made it to his floor and were just outside a door to the room he was in. A the report of the shotgun echoed throughout the structure as it was used to breach the door. With just seconds left Espio sprinted for a dark corner and went invisible.

A half dozen officers stormed into the room, some with pistols and others with shotguns at the ready. They ordered for Espio to come out or they would open fire at the slightest threat. Little known to them had disappeared into an unfinished part of the wall and climbed up above the ceiling. With careful, deliberate movements he trailed his away away from the officers and reached an airduct that ran the height of the building. By chance a vent cover on it had been left off. Looking into the duct all he it was pitch black above and below him. With how many police were down below there was only one option.

Bracing his feet and back against the duct Espio slid his way up an entire floor to the third story. Up above he saw another opening in the vent. Following it brought him out onto the third floor. Scanning his eyes around it seemed like the floor was deserted when without warning an officer with a shotgun came around the corner. Espio clung to the floor, even holding his breath to avoid detection. The cop entered the room, the barrel of the shotgun waving back and forth across the room, sometimes right at Espio. Gradually the officer came closer and closer, to the point that even with invisibility he might be stepped on. Taking one final step, Espio spread his fingers on his right hand, allowing the officer's shoe to stop right in between them. He stood for a moment, then turned to explore another room.

_"Too close..."_

Espiobroke through plastic protective cover over a nearby window and climbed out onto a drainage pipe. He scaled the pipe to the roof he watched helplessly as his handcuffed teammates were led to a waiting police wagon to be taken to the S.S.P.D. headquarters. They didn't resist in the slightest, which Espio guessed was due to Vector's order. That's when Espio realized how desperate the situation was.

_"I have to solve this case... alone... unarmed... and on the run."_

Realizing there was no safety to be had at his current location Espio looked for a way out. In this part of town many of the buildings were close together, including the ones adjacent to the current one. Checking to make sure nobody was looking, Espio broke into a sprint and performed a somersaulting jump off the ledge of the building to the next rooftop. From there Espio broke into a free-run, a skill that very few knew he had. Using everything in his path Espio vaulted, dove, flipped, and jumped over any obstacle or drop in his path. Looking ahead he could see that the next building was much too far to jump. Since he'd put a bit of distance between himself and his pursuers Espio came to a stop on the roof to figure out his location.

A not too distant horn gave Espio and idea. A branch of the Elerail ran through this part of town and it would get Espio fairly close to Manic's house. To avoid being spotted Espio wanted to stay on the roofs, but he still needed a way across. He spied a set of heavy-duty wiring that ran from building to building. With little effort he straddled the wires across the large gap to the next roof. From there he continued his free-run across the rooftops. After a few more buildings he ran out of rooftops. Without slowing down he use another set of fire-escape stairs to get down to ground level. Since he was so far now he'd felt it was safe enough to do so.

For several more blocks he hopped fences, used walls and other objects scaled over obstacles until he was a block away from the train. Just as he was going to make a run for the station he saw an S.S.P.D. waiting at the steps of the station.

_"Hmph... Clever."_

Retreating back to the alleyway Espio found a neglected building with a door that was barley holding itself together. With barely a shove it broke free and Espio scaled the interior of the building until he was level with the tracks. A single broken window provided a jumpable space between the building and the tracks, but it was also right in the view of the squad car down below. Taking a peek out of the window he could also see from this vantage point that the police were also on the platform. That meant only one thing.

_"I gotta get on a moving train."_

Going up to the final story the ceiling had partially collapsed, providing a perfect ramp to the roof. Surveying the situation Espio had a very long jump to make and little room for error both as far as landing and being spotted were concerned. Off in the distance he saw the headlights of a train approaching. Judging by its speed he could tell it was an express train that was only going to stop and major stations, and this station was not one of them. Looking back at the station he was the officers stand back in preparation for the express that was about to speed by.

_"I only have one shot at this..."_

Espio got as far back on the roof as he could, listening for the train. With a a crescendo of racket the train approached the station. When it began to blow its horn Espio estimated it to be close enough. Forcing his tired muscles into one last jolt the roof quickly ran out and Espio kicked off of the ledge with a powerful somersault to carry him. In mid air he saw the train start to speed under him. Leveling out just in time he landed on all fours on the roof, then dropped his whole body down. It took all his strength but he held on and didn't roll off of the roof.

The wind noise in his ears was deafening and it was quite difficult to positions himself to face the front of the train to reduce wind drag. For several stops he held on with all of his might, lying lat against the roof. When he felt the train finally start to slow down he knew it was time to make his move. Crawling along the roof of the train he made it to the back of the last car. He stayed put until the train came to a stop in the station where he stealthily slid from the roof down to the tracks and over the side of the span. He crawled down the support trusses of the elevated tracks as far as he could, then jumped the rest of the way to the ground.

While Espio was sure that an A.P.B. had certainly gone out on him by now, given the distance he'd covered he felt relatively secure running the streets for the time being. Since it wasn't too far Espio made it to Manic's block in about ten minutes. Peering around the corner at the house Espio had a feeling that something was off. Right away he noticed the house was both silent and dark. The garage door was now closed and he could see tire tracks at the edge of the driveway which he knew weren't there just hours before.

Going invisible once again Espio sprinted across the street and started sneaking down the alleyway behind the house. Approaching from the rear Espio used the exact same entrance point as he had before. Unlike before this time it was evident that somebody had been there. The laptop that was on the table was gone, the air duct that hid the weapons was empty, and overall the house looked ransacked. Taking a quick look around for any clues came up with nothing. That left only the garage and the basement. Curious as to what happened to garage Espio went their first. Looking inside the same BMW was still there, still covered with the blue automotive cover. Checking the trunk he finally found an answer.

The cases of money, drugs and firearms were gone. He did see a smaller cardboard box pushed all the way back into the trunk.

_"I must have missed that before. What do we have h-"_

The sound of a motorcycle approaching outside in the alleyway stopped Espio in reaching for the box. The garage offered a lot of cover but it also only had one way out. He considered making a run for the inside of the house, but he could already hear footsteps at the back of the house. Unarmed he took shelter behind a pile of tall and heavy borads of wood. Delaying his breath Espio listened intently. Whoever was at the back door was picking the lock.

With a click the door unlocked and the intruded entered the house. Whoever it was clearly being careful, both with movements and in making noise. Slowly the mystery guest made it closer and closer to his position. Then for a moment he couldn't hear anything. Just as Espio had began wondering what happened a silhouette appeared at the doorway to the garage.

Espio's hand clutched tight, ready for anything. In his position he couldn't see who would be coming in through the door, but neither would the other person. Step after step narrowed the space between the two of them until finally it was Espio on one side of the cases and the unknown on the other. Once again there was a silence as the person stopped.

_"Here goes nothing..."_

Throwing his body weight into the borads toppled over and knocked the enemy face-first into the covered car. He sprang up ready for a fight, but found the enemy lying on the ground, clearly in pain. Only then did he realize it was another Mobian, but given the recent past he wasn't about to trust anybody.

"Don't move or I _will_ harm you."

The black-furred feline ears of the Mobian twitched at the sound of Espio's voice, then the whole head of the cat spun around. **"YOU!"**

Espio was looking at an all-to-familiar black and white female cat with green highlights. "Avarice?"

"You _asshole!_" she shrieked, springing to her feet with slight labor due to the pain. "First you drug me, now you try to kill me! What the hell kind of detective are you!"

Espio wasn't phased by the shouting. He'd faced worse from Vector. "I think the more relevant question is why _you_ are here."

"I could ask you the same thing! This ain't your house!"

Espio didn't back down. "I won't ask again. Why are you here?"

"It's none of your business."

"I'm a Detective of the S.S.P.D. Your presence here is absolutely my business."

"I'm not telling you anything! Not without a lawyer."

"I haven't arrested you yet. A lawyer will do you no good."

"Hmm... good point. Bye!."

Avarice tried to run for the door, but Espio was far too quick. He tripped he up, landing her yet again on the ground. She tried to retaliate by slashing at him with her claws, but he easily pinned her to the ground, pulling her arms into a very uncomfortable brace to keep her from moving.

"Oooooooooow! Police brutality!"

"Start cooperating and it'll stop!"

"Go to hell!"

Espio held the brace tighter. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Just give me some answers and I'll let you go!"

Avarice tried to get up and run with Espio still attached. She actually made into the main room of the house before she lost her balance and fell yet again. Espio never let go of his vice on her.

"Go ahead, Detective! Break my arms! That'll make it a lot easier to take advantage of me, won't it!"

"I'm not trying to take advantage of you!"

"Then what are you trying to do!"

"I'm trying to do my job!"

"You suck at your job!"

Another brief struggle between the two ensued as they wrestled each other. In middle of everything a loud pair of electronic sounding beeps echoed throughout the vacant home. Having thought they were alone the two became completely still.

"What was that?" Avarice said, a bit of fear in her voice.

"I don't know... Where did it come from?"

"It sounded like it came through the floor."

Up until now there was only one place Espio had never looked in the house. Espio led the way to the basement where he found the door slightly ajar. Very carefully he let his fingers run up and down the door to check for trip wires. Feeling none he very cautiously nudged the door open to reach his arm around to check further. Still finding nothing he pushed the door open all the way to find the staircase was gone.

"Someone's been in here before us."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I was here a few hours ago and these steps were here. Not to mention the car outside had... items in the trunk which are now gone."

"You really like getting into other people's business, don't you?"

Espio ignored the comment and knelt down by the hallway to the basement. "There's no other option. I have to go down there."

"Is that supposed to impress me?"

"I don't exactly hear you volunteering."

Avarice scowled at the correct statement. "Touché, asshole."

Peering over the side Espio could see a patch were he could land safely, but getting back up was going to be tough on his own. Nevertheless he had to know what the sound was. With a skillful leap he landed in the clearing with a light thud. It was quite difficult to see in the basement. The only light source aside from that coming from the door above was a few faint beams coming through a few dirty windows.

"Can you see anything?"

"Nothing that interests me."

"Do you even think there's anything down there?"

"This is the only place I haven't looked yet, so it's very possible."

"Speaking of which, you still haven't told me just what you're doing here, or why you've been sneaking into this house."

"Neither have you."

"Well no duh! You're a cop!"

"And you're a criminal."

The cat only clicked her teeth in disgust. "You know, I'm glad you knocked me out last night. A prick like you doesn't deserve to have a good time with me."

"Lucky me," Espio mumbled.

"What was that!"

Espio suddenly sensed that he was close to something, although he wasn't sure what it was. "I said hold on... I see something."

Over in the corner of the house next to the main gas line for the house Espio spotted something suspicious. There was a large black duffel bag that didn't fit in with the rest of the basement, mainly that it wasn't dusty or thrown into a random pile. This bag looked to be specifically placed. As Espio approached the bag he was fairly certain he could he sounds coming from it.

"I think I found something."

"What is it?"

The bag had been left unzipped. Fearing booby traps, Espio tried to look into the bag but couldn't get a good enough angle. Looking around quickly he found the remnants of a shattered mirror on the ground. Using a long shard of it he cautiously slipped it into the opening of the case to have a look around.

00:30 - 00:29 - 00:28 - 00:27 - 00:26 - 00:25

The devil red numbers made Espio's heart-rate skyrocket. Those, combined with the many wires he could see in the faint light given off by the readout told him everything he needed to know. In an uncharacteristic move Espio turned to run in panic. In the darkness he tripped on some random object. A precious few seconds were lost to this, but he got back to his feet and ran for the steps. In an awesome effort Espio kicked up off the wall and grabbed a hold of the floor at the top of the staircase.

"What the hell is it?"

"It's a bomb!"

"Wha-A BOMB! I'M OUTTA HERE!"

The cat turned and ran for the backdoor, leaving Espio to fend for himself. Rather than waist his breath and time calling after her he tried to pull himself up, put there was nothing to grab onto. Spreading his legs out as far as possible he could just make contact with the walls of the stairwell, giving him just enough to push up from and pull up onto the floor. Just as he got to his feet he could hear a steady beeping coming from the basement. He could only guess it was the final few seconds counting off of the timer.

Breaking into a full-on sprint he exited through the rear of the house. He looked up to see Avarice on the motorcycle. She'd dropped the keys and was reaching down for them. Despite having just left him for dead Espio grabbed her and pulled her up against the wall of the alleyway just adjacent to the house. At the last second he held her to the ground and shielded her with his body.

The explosion of the house, though unseen by the two of them, was frightening. There was a loud percussion as the main explosive in the basement blew. However, being located next to the gasline for the house ignited a mighty fireball that blew the house apart. With a loud "woosh" of sorts the walls were blown part and the roof shot several stories upwards before crashing back down upon the remaining foundation of the house. The explosion sent out a strong wave of heat as well as a shower of flaming debris. Much of this landed in the alleyway, including a piece of burning roof insulation landed on the back of Espio, setting the surface of his riding suit ablaze.

Reacting instinctively Espio pulled the debris off of himself and dropped to the ground, rolling about to snuff out the flames. Even as he did piece of flaming material were still raining down which he had to swat away from his face and body. With the fire finally out Espio tried to catch his breath while lying on the ground. He looked over to see what remained of the house, which wasn't much. In fact, he could even see that the garage was gone too. The BMW, what remained of it, looked as if it too had blown up. Thinking back Espio realized the box he saw in its trunk must also have been a bomb.

"Oh my God..."

Avarice had gotten to her feet and checked on the seen. "What the hell just happened here?"

"My guess is it was either an attempt to kill whoever lived here or to eliminate evidence."

"Yeah, well whatever it is I don't give a damn. I'm outta here. I don't need to get involved with this."

Avarice turned for the motorcycle, but Espio scrambled for the keys well before she could get to them. "You're not going anywhere."

"Look, I don't care if you're a cop or not! I got nothing to say to you and after what just happened here I damn sure don't want nothing to do with you!"

"Be that as it may, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Oh yeah? Why's that, H.A.L.?"

"Because I know you're connected to all of this. I know you've got some involvement with the grand theft auto crime spree that's been going on. More importantly, I know you know more about what's going on. I need you to tell me that."

Avarice cocked an eyebrow. "You really have been busy, haven't you? I guess that explains why you drugged me and why you were here now." She went back to a scowl. "That doesn't change a thing. I still don't give a damn about you or what you want. I guess all you can do is arrest me and take me in. Of course, I'll just ask for a lawyer anyway so you still won't get what you want. So unless you've got some sort of a game-changer that's gonna make me think otherwise, I guess you can slap on the cuffs."

Espio had to think carefully about his answer as he felt he had a slight edge here. Since Avarice was mentioning she might change her mind if told the right thing, Espio felt he could win her over. since Manic's house was bombed it became apparent that someone didn't want Manic or something he had, or both, to exist anymore. With that realization Espio realized that there was the distinct possibility that anybody who had anything to do with the case may also be targeted. That lead Espio to make a realization that was sure to get Avarice on his side.

"I know this house belonged to somebody who was involved with this crime operation. I also know that you were involved with it. Since this bombing appear to be a hit, that means anybody involved can be in danger."

Espio could tell Avarice was genuinely thinking about this. Then it hit her, and Espio knew it. "Is it clear now, Avarice? I know Rouge is in on this too, along with a few others. She could just as easily be a target. I know you know something. Even if it's just a little bit, I can use that to solve this case and, if fate is on our side, prevent anybody from getting hurt, or worse."

Off in the distance the sounds of police and fire sirens meant they were losing time. Espio heard them to and perked up in attention.

"We don't have much time. I need to know now... Are you going to help me?"

Avarice was torn between her decisions. Espio could be lying just to trick her, or he could be telling the truth. Either one seemed just as likely. She'd already seen that Espio could pull off a lie, but the facts were undeniable. Her decision wasn't an easy one, and the nearing sirens didn't help her make up her mind any easier.

Within a few of minutes the horde of emergency vehicles arrived. Had they arrived just a minute sooner the S.S.P.D. just might have been able to Espio from getting away on his motorcycle, along with his new feline partner.


	33. Something is Up

**Author's Notes**:

Well... it seems I've developed a nasty habit of slow updates. I apologize for this. The second half of my summer was quite busy and this college term has been full of ups and downs too. Not to mention I had a severe case of writer's block with this chapter. All of that adds up to a slow update.

Speaking of updates, I've come to the conclusion that there will be just one more chapter before what I'd consider the ultimate climax of this story beings. The next chapter will most likely be very fast moving and probably on the shorter side. It'll move everything along and set up for the finale to being. Hopefully I'll catch a break and be able to get that out a bit quicker than this last chapter.

Other than that, not much to say but enjoy this chapter. As always all opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 33: Something is Up  
**

Hidden amongst the poor side of town, Espio found himself in one of Avarice's many hideouts she had across town. In this case, it was an old apartment building that the owner had abandoned but had never had cleaned out or demolished. It wasn't exactly a place fit for long stays, but for a place to lay low it would suffice.

Espio needed some time to think since he'd been doing nothing but running for the better part of a half hour. Sitting on the floor and now approaching nine in the morning something became apparent to Espio. He'd been up most of the previous day, through the night, and all through the morning's events. Even in his utmost fitness, the exhaustion was starting to catch up with him. As he sat trying to make sense of things his head began to sink forward, his eyes burning as their lids tried to shut. Just on the verge of passing out Avarice returned to the room.

"WAKE UP!"

Espio snapped to attention, actually getting to his feet in a fight-or-flight reaction.

"Damn! What's you're problem?"

"N... nothing. I'm just tired... and confused."

"Join the club," the cat replied, flopping down onto an old dirty sofa. "Aside from the normal pests we're alone in here."

"Pests?"

"Bugs and rodents and stuff."

"Oh... I take it they don't bother you?"

"Eh, I'm used to it. This is paradise considering some of the places I've been. When you live the life of an alley cat you get your fair share of shit you have to put up with. "

"I know what you mean about that last statement," he replied, thinking about all the hardships he'd been through while involved with the Chaotix.

"Heh, for once you and I agree on something. Didn't think that could happen. In fact, that makes me want to ask you something... Were you b-s-ing me when you said Rouge could be in trouble, or was that just a ruse?"

The way Avarice asked this suggested that she'd since realized she may have reacted too quickly to what Espio had said before. "Why would I make something like that up?"

"Because you're a detective. That's your job. Mind-fucking people into telling them what you want to hear."

"The only thing I'm concerned with is making sure that anybody innocent doesn't get hurt and that the guilty are brought to justice."

"See! I knew it! You just made that lie up to get me scared! I'll bet the police are on their way right now!"

Espio didn't want want things to end up in another brawl like at Manic's house. He knew he had to keep his cool, but also had to make a strong point to convince the stubborn feline he wasn't trying to trick her.

"You know something, if it wasn't for me you'd have still been in that house when it blew."

"Oh, puh-_lease_! There's no way I would have hung around that long for that thing to go off."

"Considering you didn't even know it was there, how can you be so sure? Only after I investigated the downstairs did we know what is was and, had it taken us just a bit longer to find that out, we both wouldn't even be here right now. Whoever planted that bomb knew what they were doing."

"Since when are you a bomb technician? You've got no proof of that."

"No proof? That house was ransacked and a bomb was deliberately placed so that it would blow the gas line and take out the entire house. And on top of that, from the brief look I had of the device, it didn't look like something that was built in someone's garage but rather a professional time-bomb. Further more, only select items were taken from the house. There were many more valuable pieces that a thief could have taken, but they were left behind. Think about it... Does that sound like something that a bunch of pranksters do, or does that sound like the work of professional criminals?"

"How do you know that the house wasn't just robbed and then, by some coincidence, whoever placed the bomb just came by and put it there afterwards?"

"Do I know that for a fact? No. But what I do know is that house robberies are common. Blowing up a structure with a specifically-placed bomb is far from common."

"Okay, okay! Maybe whoever lived there pissed somebody else off and they tried to take them out! It wouldn't be the first time that somebody else tried that. How does this play into Rouge being in danger, hmm?"

"As I stated before, that house belonged to somebody involved with this operation. Clearly somebody didn't want anything to remain of that house, its contents, or its occupants. Based on that, I believe that anybody involved with this whole situation may also be in danger."

Avarice only scoffed. "Is this all based on a hunch?"

Espio sighed in slight frustration. "Yes, but I feel it's a strong one. One that's worth investigating."

"Yeah, well, I might have fallen for it at first, but the more I've thought about it the more I think you're full of shit. You wanna go follow that lead? Fine by me. I just want to get the hell out of here. And speaking of that, where the hell is my motorcycle that you stole, anyway?"

For whatever reason, Espio smirked ever-so-slightly at the answer he was going to give. "Lying in quite a few pieces on the unfinished 105 Freeway. It was a casualty of the high-speed chase I was involved in this morning."

Avarice hissed quietly. "I'm really starting to hate you."

"How you feel about me I could care less. But it concerns me that you're not paying one bit of credence to that fact that Rouge, who you clearly care about very much, could be in grave danger."

"I'm not listening to that because I don't trust you and you got no proof."

"What if I were to offer you proof?"

The feline cocked an eyebrow. "How would you do that?"

"I suggest we go to Club Rouge. That to me seems like the kind of place somebody would target if they were after Rouge. If we go there and find nothing then I'll let you go on your way. I'll even let you take my motorcycle."

Avarice thought about this for a moment. "Fine, let's go if it'll make ya feel any better. But just so ya know, I look forward to peelin' out in front of the club as you watch me speed away on your set of wheels."

Espio said nothing has he motioned for them to go. Regardless of the cat's opinion he felt he'd come up with a strong hypothesis. Whether or not that hypothesis was true was still up in the air, but Espio was going to see to it and find out once and for all if he was right for the sake of the case, the greater good, and now more than ever, his teammates.

* * *

It was a solemn mood in the back of the police wagon. The three of them, Vector, Mighty and Charmy sat in silence as they wondered how this could have happened. How anybody could ever have thought that The Chaotix, the team of detectives that had brought down some of the most notorious, hated, searched-for criminals, could somehow be criminals themselves was beyond them. It made no sense.

"It has to be some sort of mistake..." Mighty said in a dull tone.

"We didn't do anything wrong!" Charmy cried. "We know who the bad guys are and it's not us!"

"At least not some of us," Vector corrected. "Don't forget, one of our own betrayed us. If you ask me, I think that's what caused this."

The other detectives looked at their boss in disbelief. "You mean... Ray wanted this to happen to us?" Charmy asked.

"No! I'll never believe that!" Mighty stated, the confidence back in his voice. "I've known Ray for a long time! He would never ever do something like that to us or anybody for that matter!"

Vector had a look of slight annoyance. "Oh yeah? What proof do you have?"

"I don't need it! Common sense is more than enough to tell me that Ray is not the culprit!"

"Then why did he go with Sonic and Manic who, may I remind you, are obviously guilty in this case?"

Mighty faltered at the strong point. "I... I can't say for sure. But I do know this. Clearly Ray knew about or was in on something with them. From what I saw, I think Ray is onto something that he doesn't want us involved in."

"Yeah, that's obvious," Vector scoffed.

"I don't mean like that! Ray's not doing this to protect himself! He's doing it to protect us!"

Vector cocked an eyebrow. "And just how in the hell did you figure that out?"

"Sonic has done far more for the greater good then any other Mobian past or present. Ray clearly didn't want anything happening to Sonic. That said, I feel like there's way more to what's going on than what we know or think we know."

Charmy's antennae twitched with interest. "That makes so much sense! I mean, we make a great team, but all of us combined don't even come close to the capabilities that Sonic has. If Ray wanted to keep Sonic free, it's obviously because Sonic must have something important to do! In fact, he might even be helping Ray with the investigation!"

Vector sighed. "I'll be honest... I want to believe that. I have known Sonic for a long time and in the past I've worked with him. I know that he, more than anybody else, wants nothing but the best for this world. But how he could possibly do that with the current actions that he's taken... I'm going to need something to prove to me that whatever he's doing has merit, otherwise he's still the enemy to me."

"What would prove it to you?" Mighty asked.

"I suppose something... _anything_ that would explain just what the hell is going on would be a good start."

The van made a turn and pulled into a dark parking area. "Finally!," Vector snapped. "Took you guys long enough to get us here! Let us out so we can take care of this crap and get back on our investigation!"

There was no answer from anybody in the cab or from outside. "Yo! You guys deaf or something? Let us out of here!"

The sound of the rear doors unlatching made Vector relax a little. "Finally! Did you guys take the scenic route or something?"

The door slid open just a bit, then quickly closed again. In that brief moment some sort of small, round device flew into the back of the van. Caught by surprise the trio could only stare at it for a moment.

"What is that?" Charmy asked rhetorically.

Then, when a loud hiss a white noxious cloud started emanating from the everybody covers their noses and mouth. "What is this!" Charmy cried out.

Trying to keep his mouth and nose covered Vector threw his substantial body weight against the rear doors, trying to force them open, but to no avail. He got another couple slams in before he felt himself starting to lose black out. On the verge of passing out he looked over to see his partners already out cold.

"What... the... f..."

Outside the van the officers, wearing gas-masks, opened the rear doors and pulled the unconscious detectives from the van and dragged them by their arms off to another location. Three officers were needed to carry Vector alone. Overseeing all of this was a certain needle-nosed lackey. With a devilish grin he raised a radio up to his gas mask.

"Dr. Robotnik, I have wonderful news."

"_Oh? Enlighten me._"

_"Enlighten me. As if anything could do that easily,"_ Snively thought to himself. "We've just acquired three more captives. I think you'll be pleased to know that we now have Vector, Mighty, and Charmy of the Chaotix detective agency!"

_"Ohhh... that is great news, dear nephew. But there's a problem."_

The grin vanished from Snively's face. "S-sir?"

_"The four members we have are fly shit to me. Espio is the member that I am the most concerned about. He's got the most brains out of the lot and if there's anybody other than Sonic or Sally that could ruin everything, it's Espio. In fact, I'd dare say I fear him more than Shadow, and that's saying something."_

The lackey swallowed in fear as the radio fell silent. That usually meant the Robotnik was thinking about something sinister for him.

_"Snively?"_

"Ep!... Yes sir?" he barely gasped out.

_"If I were you I'd make sure you get the word gets out that Espio is a top priority and that I want something done about him. Otherwise..."_

"The roboticizer?"

_"Oh no no no no no no no... For you Snively, I do believe I could think up something far more diabolical if Espio ruins everything we've worked so hard to achieve up until this point."_

Snively was rather pale in the face. "Yes sir. It will be done," he answered in a quivering voice.

_"For your sake, I hope so."_

The radio fell silent. Snively took a moment to collect himself, then switched to an alternate frequency.

"Now here this... Espio the Chameleon is considered a top priority by management and he must be found at all costs!"

* * *

The ride to Club Rouge was relatively uneventful. Only once did Espio's heart-rate rise when he spotted a S.S.P.D. unit pull out behind them, but it was several blocks behind them and ended up going the opposite direction anyway. Having already had to run-ins this morning Espio didn't want to take any more chances so he parked a couple blocks away. Sticking to the alleys the two came up behind Club Rouge. From there Espio inspected the scene.

"Looks like we got the place to ourselves," Avarice stated with a slight tone of I-told-you-so.

"Is that normal?" Espio asked.

"Pft, are you serious? There's a reason they call it a night club. I mean, who the hell goes clubbing at nine in the morning?"

"I think I may know who if I'm right."

"Yeah, well we'll see about that. God, I can't wait to peel outta here on that set of wheels."

Espio didn't let the feline's attitude bother him. Sneaking up behind the club there still didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Avarice went to say some sort of smart comment when Espio held up his hand for them to stop. Listening closely they could both hear voices as well as an idling engine. They peered around the corner just as a black van was pulling out onto the main road. There was a black van which they cautiously approached. Looking in through the back windows Espio saw three cases, all of which he recognized and knew what was inside.

"I was right. Something is up."

"How do you know?"

"Because those cases were in the car at the house we were at before. When I got there they were gone. It appears they've made their way here now instead."

"What type of contents?"

Espio didn't know whether to tell her at first, but he knew he had to start making her believe in his theory. "Money, cocaine, and stolen fully-automatic pistols."

The cat gave Espio a "I-don't-believe-you" look. Noticing the door was ever so slightly ajar he nudged it open, finding nobody inside. He motioned her over and opened the cases.

"What the... There's no way anything like this should be anywhere near Rouge's club! I know she runs a strict and legal operation here!... My god, Espio I think you might be right about this."

"The only thing I wonder is why this car stayed behind. Given its condition it could be broken down, but my guess is that its driver may still be inside."

The sound of running footsteps from the rear door were approaching fast. With little time to spare they took cover behind the club's dumpsters. Espio managed to catch a glimpse of a human figure wearing all black and a matching ski-mask get into the cab. He could hear a second get into the back of the van as it sped off.

"Friends of Rouge?" Espio asked, already knowing the answer.

"No way... Do you think there's another bomb?"

"There's only one way to find out."

Cautiously the two entered the building. Once inside the mind room déjà vu started to kick in for both of them. The building had been ransacked, this time seemingly worse than Manic's house since there was more inside of it. The table and chairs were tossed about, much of the musical and entertainment equipment was ruined, and it appeared that not a single bottle of alcohol had been left unmolested.

"I can't believe this! Who the hell is doing this?"

"That I don't know, but what I do know is that it was done my the same people that did this to the house. And that means only one thing."

Espio went for the basement. This time the stairs were intact, so he guessed the stairs had simply broke due to poor up-keep at Manic's house. What he did find was the lights for the basement had been destroyed so it was pitch-dark at the bottom.

A light suddenly shinned next to Espio. Avarice had found a flash-light from upstairs and guided the way for him. Going deep into the basement they went straight for the building's piping. When they were within a few feet from it Avarice stopped with a gasp. There was a black duffel bag directly next to the gas line.

"Is that...?"

Espio cautiously inspected the bag. He jumped when a beep came from it. His mind told him to run, but carefully opening the bag the timer read that ten minute remained.

"Holy shit... You were right, Espio. There _is_ something going on."

"Indeed there is. Do you see any tools around here?"

"Yeah, there's some over there. What for?"

"I'm going to deactivate this bomb."

Avarice went wide-eyed at the statement but went to retrieve the tools as Espio began looking over the device, trying to figure out how it worked. When she approached her hands were visibly shaking just a bit.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"I haven't been trained to be a bomb technician specifically, but I have sabotaged electronics before on various cases my team has been involved with. I do believe I can figure this out."

"Well I sure hope so, because if you don't we're dead."

Studying the bomb's wiring Espio had an idea of how it was constructed. To say the least, it was well built and not meant to be messed around with. In fact, it looked to him like it was far above even the best criminal skill level, but he didn't have time to ponder that. Tracing his way through the wires he had to at least determine how to stop the timer. After a little digging he was pretty sure he'd narrowed down the strip of wires that contained the timer line, but there were still a few possibilities. After a bit more investigation he narrowed it down to just three wires.

"Uhh..."

"What?" Espio asked.

"We got five minutes left..." Avarice said with rising concern in her voice.

"It's one of these three. I know it."

"What happens if you don't pick the right one?"

"Then the timer will either run down in mere seconds, or it could detonate immediately."

The cat swallowed deeply. "Yeah... um... So which one is it?"

Espio pulled out a red and blue wire. "Looking at these three wires these two look like the most obvious culprits."

"So, which is it in the movies? Red or blue?"

"I'm not cutting either one."

"What!"

"I have a feeling it's thins one." Espio pinched a hard to see black wire. "Whoever built this device knows what they are doing. They'd want whoever is disarming it to go for the obvious. But I am no fool."

"Yeah, and you're no bomb tech either!"

"Well, I guess we're about to find out aren't we?"

Espio took a pare of wire clippers and held them to the black wire. He paused for a moment, running his eyes over everything once again. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slow the chameleon tightened his grip on the cutters.

*CLIP*

Avarice flinched, expecting to be incinerated. Instead, the time came to a stop at just over three minutes to go. Avarice let out a half-sigh half-chuckle of relief. From there Espio turned off the timer device. Now safe, he took a good look at the explosives.

"C-4 plastique," Espio observed.

"That's some serious shit right there."

"Indeed. And certainly something that isn't easily come by."

"Whoever is doing this must have connections out the ass."

Espio nodded in agreement, then motioned for them to get upstairs. Only after they got up there did Avarice realize that Espio still had the C-4 with him.

"What the hell did you bring that with you for!"

"Because this is evidence. In fact, it's the only evidence I have after this morning."

"You mean you had more and lost it? How'd you do that?"

"It was destroyed by the very person whose house was blown up."

Avarice already knew where Espio was going. "This is wear you ask me what part I play in all this, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I'm going to come clean with you too."

Espio explained to her how the Chaotix had been investigating this case. He told her of the first failed attempt and then supposed solving of the case when Nack was killed. He then told her that around the same time Sonic had come to town and got caught up in everything going on with Nack. From there he explained all the weird car sightings he'd had along with his run-in with Shadow and Rouge, then proceeded through the morning's events at Vector's house, the chase with Sonic and Manic, and Ray's escape with the hedgehogs. He concluded with the surprise raid on their headquarters and his escape.

"So you're on the run too, huh?"

"Unfortunately, and unfairly, yes. So now that I've told you what I know... What do you know?"

Avarice paused a moment to consider one last time if she could trust Espio. She finally made up her mind.

"I'm going to be honest, I don't know nearly as much as you do." Avarice paused as Espio stared on, then continued. "A few days ago Rouge contacted me to say she needed my help. She said she had something big to do so I had to watch over her club. Of course I pressed her for more and she told me that she had to do something from the old days. Eventually she told me it was a big car heist which, although a bit out of her norm, she certainly had the skill to do so. Other than that the only other things she told me was that Shadow would be helping her and Amy would be helping me here. I saw her briefly last night when you showed up and she said things were going good. I haven't seen or heard from her since and after I woke up from you drugging me I pretty much spent the time driving around to the various places I thought Rouge could be until I ran into you. And just so you know I picked that area at random. I thought it was abandoned so I was looking around to see if it was safe... And that's what I know."

Espio believed what he'd been told, but over all it didn't tell him much that what he already knew, save for one detail. "You mentioned an Amy... was that Amy Rose?"

"Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"If Sonic was involved with this she'd certainly be involved, given her past with him. Where did you pick her up from?"

"The the penthouse she was staying at. I think it belonged to this girl named Mina."

"Mina Mongoose?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"She's involved too?... Of course..."

Espio's tone suggested he had figured something out.

"What?"

"I think you've given me what I need to continue my investigation. You're cooperation is appreciated."

Without another look or a word, Espio turned to leave.

"Woah woah, wait a second! So that's it? You just get some information from me and leave?"

"I think it's clear now that this is a very dangerous situation. I do not want any further hindrance of this case. The sooner I can get to the root of all of this-"

"Hey! You said that Rouge is in danger! You think I'm just gonna sit on my ass and do nothing!"

"I never said that you couldn't do anything. I said that this is where our partnership ends. I do not want to endanger your life, nor do I want to waste another moment. You've been helpful and I'd like to leave it at that."

"Well what about me? You said anybody involved could be in danger, right? What am I supposed to do?"

"I highly suggest that you keep a low profile for the time being. Given that you don't have nearly as deep a role in this case at the others you can probably avoid any further trouble if you stop right now."

Avarice wasn't very reassured, but by now she knew arguing with Espio was pointless. "I know I can't persuade you, so I won't bother. But... what do you want to do with that?"

Avarice pointed at the bomb. "Turn it over to the authorities. You know I can't do it, so I'm counting on you to make sure this doesn't fall into the wrong hands." Espio replied.

"Uhh... You do realize that I'm not exactly without a history, right? I walk into a police station they'll be on me like flies on shit."

"Call in a bomb threat on a pay phone and allow the authorities to come to it, then run. I'm sure you can pull that off."

"Yeah...," she trailed, not feeling to sure of the plan. "So... what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll solve this case no matter what. I _have_ to..."

Once again without another look back or word Espio left the building, leaving Avarice to ponder her situation. All she knew was that her situation was a lot like Espio's. She was alone, had little to go on, and knew that everything was against her helping those she cared about.

* * *

Back at Robotnik's hideout Snively was quivering with excitement. He couldn't wait to report their newest stroke of luck to his boss.

"Dr. Robotnik, I have some good news for you."

_"Have you captured Espio?"_

Snively's heart jolted a bit. "Umm... no sir."

_"Then how could this possibly be good news?"_

"Well, sir... we have succeeded in capturing Shadow."

_"Oh? Do tell me, did my plan work?"_

"Splendidly, sir. He gave in like a deuce in front of a royal flush. Seems that the only thing Shadow does love more than Maria is Rouge. A simple threat to her well-being and he put up no fight at all."

_"Did they remember to get his power bands?"_

"Even better sir. It was either he hand them over, or she was to be executed on the spot."

_"Marvelous work, Snively. Slowly but surely we are setting up for quite an evening."_

"Indeed sir."

_"Just make sure that our men in the field are reminded again and again that Espio is a prime target. And after you do that, see that our stand-in for Antoine is comfortable and has what he needs."_

"Yes sir."

* * *

Espio parked a few blocks away from a luxury condo building, on top of which was the penthouse where Mina Mongoose lived. It was here that he felt he had the best chance to find something that could help start putting everything together. Going immediately for the garage entrance Espio snuck past the guard station with his invisibility capabilities and proceeded straight down. Scanning the area he spotted a yellow Corvette. He surmised that is belong to Mina since it was a fast car that matched her style. Investigating it he was perplexed by the damages it had, but they didn't tell him anything and he found nothing else of interest.

Moving on he headed towards the elevators. That's when he spotted a pair of black Ford vans next to the elevators, the exact same kind that had been at the club. How they'd gotten past security he couldn't be sure, but he did feel sure that they were bad news. A hunch told him that he was going to find whoever came in those vans up in the penthouse.

He needed a fast way to get up to the top of the building. The main elevators were out since they were in the main lobby and he wanted to stay out of sight. The elevators in the garage only went up a few floors and yet again they were more than likely guarded. Scaling the building was going to be impossible given its height and time needed to do so. Looking around he spied his one opportunity. Off of the elevators to the lobby was a freight elevator, and by chance it had just lit up indicating it had arrived. Going invisible yet again he hid behind some parked cars, ready to sprint for the lift after its occupants exited it. He could hear as several feet scurried from the lift. He expected to see a team of janitors come by carrying the building's refuse out to the dumpsters. But he didn't.

Before he could get a good look he heard the group get into one of the black vans and drive off quickly through the exit ramp. For a moment he considered running after it, but Espio knew he didn't have the speed to catch up to it. In his anger he almost forgot about the freight elevator. With an all-out sprint and a skillful cartwheel jump he just made it in. Immediately he pushed the button for the top floor.

_"Dammit! Another failure!. That was probably the very clue I was looking for..."_ he thought as he took deep breaths to calm down. _"All is not lost. There could still be something in the penthouse."_

Even for a freight elevator it moved quite fast and in little time he was to the top floor. Looking around he saw that all the doors were closed on the floor, save for a single one. Quietly approaching the room he was met with a familiar sight. The luxury room had been trashed, this time even showing some evidence that there had been some struggle as well.

_"This is the work of the same group, perhaps the same individuals."_

Going invisible Espio crept into the room. It was difficult making his way around the various debris on the floor and it hindered him greatly. After what seemed like an hour, but was really only seconds, Espio reached the kitchen where he could hide in a blind corner. He could hear a conversation going on in a room next to him.

"So why isn't this place being bombed?"

"Because the bitch that lives here is a friggin' celebrity. We make it look like a nasty kidnapping took place, we demand a crazy ransom, which the crazy fan boys and girls will make sure gets raised, the boss collects the money, we get our cut, then we make sure the girl never to be found again."

Espio could barely believe what he was hearing. _"Who are the people! Who could do such a thing!"_

"Ahhh, okay. Gotcha. But why the bombs in the first two places?"

"The first place was a shit hole. It could be played off as an accident, like a gas leak or something. The other place we can make look like a competitor wanted to take our their competition. After all, it's only the most popular nightclub in this city. Odds are somebody wants it shut down."

Espio was in further disbelief. _"What nerve..."_

"So what about all the others?"

"I don't know. I only knew the first two 'cause I knew the guys doing it. But it's my guess that all the others have been planned out like these too. Anyway, enough chit chat. Help me finish this so we can get the hell out of here."

Espio's blood ran red hot. _"Those bastards! I can't let them get away with this!"_

Listening to the thugs messing up with room Espio had to think of some way to subdue the two of them. Even with his level of training, taking on both had a high level of risk. However, he had the element of surprise and knew he could catch them off guard. Looking down at his feet he found a lemon that had been thrown to the floor of the wrecked kitchen. Peeking around the corner Espio got his first look at the intruders. All he could tell was they were of human stature, they were dressed in black jumpsuits with matching ski-masks, and most terrifyingly that they were armed with the same fully-automatic machine pistols that had been in the car back at Manic's house.

Seizing the fact that both had their back turned, Espio threw the lemon far down the hall. He had just enough time to duck back before the loud thump of it hitting the end of the hallway broke the silence. Immediately he heard both of the thugs snap up in surprise and draw their pistols.

_"Here we go..."_

After both men had passed Espio crept a few feet behind them. Fortunately the pair broke off at the end of the hall to investigate the noise they had heard. One went down a longer hall while the other into a nearby lounge room.

Espio went after the one in the room. He didn't look as tough as the other and had also been the one who didn't seem to know anything in the conversation that had just taken place. Following him in the room was rather dark since the shade were pulled, which played to his advantage. Sticking close to the walls Espio was able to get close without being detected. All he had to do was wait for the right moment.

The masked man suddenly became perplexed when he spotted a lemon sitting on the floor. He bent down to pick up. Before he could Espio performed a knock-out blow to the man's neck and head. Since the now unconscious being was already close to the ground Espio easily laid him down on the floor quietly.

_"That was easy. Now the other one."_

Espio could hear the other interloper down the end of the hall. In little time he'd crept down the hall to find him in the large bedroom of the penthouse. The room had plenty of hiding places, which was more than likely why it was taking so long to search the room. At present the goon was checking under the bed next to a window with closed curtains, his back turned to Espio.

_"All too easy."_

Espio carefully made his way in behind to deliver another knock-out attack. Half way there the bandit suddenly and quickly threw open the sliding curtains, allowing the morning light to pour into the room. Espio froze in his tracks, hoping to avoid detection, but it was already too late. With his break in concentration he lost his invisibility and was in full view. Almost instantly this was detected by the enemy.

"What the? **YOU! DON'T MOVE!**"

Espio suddenly found himself looking down the barrel of a fully-automatic Block 18C with a thirty-three round magazine loaded into it. Even with his training to avoid getting shot at his current distance was next to impossible. As quickly as he could Espio went back invisible and sprinted for the door.

It only took a moment for the bandit to realize what was happening and open fire. The rapid fire of 9mm full metal jacket bullets followed close behind Espio through the doorway and even through the wall itself. Pushing his muscles to the limit Espio sprinted down the hallway to the way out. He was just seconds from escaping.

Suddenly a third person in black rounded the doorway and raised a weapon in their hands. Espio's brain had barely registered the person when a loud pop followed by two sudden impacts stopped Espio in his tracks. His invisibility faded as he fell to the floor immediately, paralyzed by pain surging through his entire body. He tried to move, but he couldn't. At least, not voluntarily.

Through the white-hot pain and uncontrollable spasms Espio could hear the crackle of a taser gun as it sent volt upon volt of electricity through its coiled barbs that were embedded into his chest. Each passing second felt like an eternity as the torment continued. Finally, just shy of passing out, Espio felt the surging pain stop. Even so, he was far from being able to move and could barely catch a breath.

"Damn! Nice shot!" said the person behind them.

"You guys are useless, you know that? I send you two up to do a simple task and you fuck it up." said the man with the taser.

"Hey up yours, pal! I at least caught him before he could attack me! Not to mention I got shots off at him!"

"Yeah, a fat load of good that did. He woulda got away if it wasn't for me. Luckily I heard his footsteps coming right at me. It's a damn miracle I hit him."

"Yeah yeah yeah... And where the hell is that stupid bastard?..." he trailed off, looking in a back room. "Aw dammit! Looks like that purple bastard knocked him out cold!"

"Figures. You want some help finishing your job?"

"Just get that bastard down to the truck! He's caused enough trouble already!

By now Espio had recovered just enough to look up at his assailant. There wasn't much to see since he too was dressed like the others, including a black ski mask, With a piercing gaze his attacker chuckled and gave Espio one final jolt from the taser gun. This pushed Espio over the edge and his vision began to black out. The last thing he saw was a gloved black hand covering towards his face.

* * *

When next he opened his eyes Espio found himself in the back of a dark vehicle. Through a very foggy mind he glanced around and determined it was a van. He guessed based on the conversation he'd heard prior that it was the van down in the parking garage. As he went to push himself up he heard the locks to the doors behind him unlatch. Staying motionless as the doors opened he both heard and felt a large heavy object land beside him. The doors were shut and locked immediately after.

Listening, Espio could make out the voices of the two men that had just been up in the penthouse. In what little light there was, Espio could make out the object next to him was the third person he'd previously knocked out. Given that he wasn't moving, it was obvious the masked person was still unconscious. The van shook slightly as the two front doors slammed shut, then vibrated as the van's engine was started. To avoid being slung around Espio kept a low profile to the floor. He felt when they hit the exit ramp of the garage, then a sharp turn out onto the street.

Espio quickly realized how much the odds weren't in his favor. He was locked inside a moving van, not sure where it was going, couldn't see anything, didn't have any way to pick the lock to the door, and was right next to somebody who would probably try to kill him the moment he regained consciousness. For the first time since he was on his own, Espio was out of ideas.

_"There's nothing I can do... There's not even a window for me to kick out... And even if I try getting out the back doors it will be detected... There's nothing I can do... I've failed... **again**..."_

Slouching to the floor Espio's thoughts turned somber. His team had been counting on him to solve the case and bring the enemy to justice. Now he saw in the enemies hands and there was no telling what was going to happen to him. The one thing that was obvious was that it would not be good. It was pretty clear what his fate was going to be.

Without warning the van came to a screeching halt, throwing both occupants into the front wall of the van. Amazingly the man was still unconscious. Espio, on the other hand, was on high alert. Either they'd already reached their destination, or something was wrong. He listened to try and figure out what was going on.

"Watch where you're going, you dumb broad!"

The first voice was the driver, the same person who's shot Espio with the taser. Barely audible as a female voice and a high-pitched engine idle.

"Yeah that's right, you fucking animal! I called you a dumb broad!... Oh yeah, what are you gonna do, huh? Spit a hairball at me?... So now you think you're some sort of bad ass, huh?... What did you call me?... You know who the hell you're talking to?... ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT!"

Despite the discouragement of the passenger the driver exited the van. "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME ON, BITCH? GO FOR IT!... **OH _SHIT!_**"

The intense fear was evident in the man's voice, but they were the only words he could get out. Two loud pops followed immediately followed by a howl in pain shocked Espio. Just through the wall of the van he could hear the distinct sound of a handgun's slide being pulled back. Espio guessed it was one of the full-auto Glocks that had been used against him. Before any shots could be taken by the passenger two more shots rang out. He heard a grunt from the driver's cabin and then the passenger fell silent.

Espio staid low as he could, not having the slightest clue as to what was going on. He could hear running footsteps coming and stop just outside the rear of the van.

"Stay away from the doors!"

Espio knew the voice. With a single gunshot the lock on the doors was destroyed. When they opened Espio found himself looking at a familiar face. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass, Espio! What does it look like?" Avarice stated.

The feline reached in and pulled him from the van. Only then did she notice the other masked man in the back. "Is he dead?"

"No, just very unconscious."

Even though Avarice had obviously just taken the shots seconds ago, Espio's instincts kicked in when she raised her revolver and pointed into the van. He wanted to grab for her arm, but she pulled the trigger well before he could do anything. The gun's only response was a dull click.

"Dammit! Oh well, fuck him! We gotta run! Now!"

Avarice began running for her transportation, none other than Espio's motorcycle which she'd somehow found. Espio too began to run. On his way he noticed the man on the street, the first who had tried to shoot him in the penthouse. He looked to be still alive, but very badly wounded. A quick glance to his right and he could see the other man was clearly dead. One of the shots had hit him in the head.

By the time Espio reached the bike Avarice had already started it. He jumped onto he rear of the motorcycle and had only just gotten his grip when the throttle gunned and they were off. Espio held on as tightly as he could, pinning himself against a black backpack that Avarice was currently wearing. They turned only a block later and left the scene behind them.

Espio was utterly confused. How had Avarice gotten there so fast? How could she have known for sure Espio was going to Mina's penthouse? How did she know he'd been kidnapped? How did she know he was in the can? How did she know the men in black were the enemies? And where did she get a gun from? These plus many other questions swirled in Espio's mind. However, he was at least relieved that he was out of his previous predicament. He could only wonder, though, what was going to happen next.

* * *

Robotnik was actually running. A short while ago he'd heard from Snively that something had gone seriously wrong and they were coming in. Just minutes ago he'd heard from Snively again and that things were serious. Arriving at the loading area where the Chaotix had been dropped off Robotnik spotted his nephew and the surviving crew member.

"Snively, what the hell is going on?" Robotnik barked.

"Ep!..."

"This is NOT a time for ep! **What happened!**"

"Well, sir... t-take a look for yourself."

Robotnik proceeded to the van. It was a disturbing sight. He could see a black van with blood splattered throughout the inside and two bodies was dead from a head shot, the other lay holding his chest between the seat, also dead. The many bullet holes in the windshield and body of the van made it obvious that the attacked had meant business.

Robotnik growled slightly under his breath and turned to the remaining member of the team.

"You. What happened here?"

"I... I don't know."

Robotnik cocked an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

"Not really. I mean one minute we were up in the penthouse setting it up like you ordered us to. Then we thought we heard somebody sneaking around. I went into a room to look and then next thing I know I feel something hit me and I get knocked out. When I woke up I was in the back of the van and... well, I found them like this."

Robotnik took a step forward, clearly seething with rage. "Is that all you know?"

Fear was evident in the lackey's response. "Well... um... the only other thing I know is right when I was starting to come to I heard the van doors open up and I heard a voice. I don't know who it was, but I heard whoever it was say a name. It was a weird name... It began with an E I think... I think... It was Espio or something like that."

Robotnik's eyes flared. "_Espio?_ Espio did _this?_"

"Uhh... I guess so."

It was over quickly for the dumb-founded criminal. In a flash Robotnik's robotic arm and hand latched around the neck of the lackey and with a quick twist broke his neck. The body fell to the ground and remained motionless.

Snively was visibly shaking when his boss turned to him with red-eyes glaring. "Snively, I'm going to make this very clear. You make sure that Espio is dealt with. I don't care how, just make sure he doesn't interfere with my plans again. If you fail me like this one did... you won't have a quick, painless death like him."

Robotnik turned and left his nephew fearing for his life. Regaining his composure Snively made the following announcement on the radio. "Attention... this is an urgent message. Espio is to be killed on sight. I repeat, Espio is to be killed on sight. No exceptions."


	34. A Friend Made & Lost

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

As I stated before there is a significant jump in time in this chapter, meaning it starts off in the morning and by the end it's the evening. As I said in my last set of author's notes I didn't want to drag this section of the story out any longer and I want to get into the final climax and ending. That's why this chapter let's a significant span of time go by. Anything important that happens during that time period will covered in subsequent chapters.

Also, I want to give you all a heads up about this chapter. Given that I had to do a major time-skip, I wanted to supplement this chapter with something else to help set up for the finale of this story. We will in fact start getting into the finale next chapter, but I needed some way to transition to that this chapter in the mean time.

The way I decided to do that was not an easy decision to make. In fact, I've been trying to make up my mind for the last few chapters whether or not I was going to do or even could do what I did in this chapter. Given that I've been making up a lot of this section of the story and I had no other usable alternative, I went through with my idea. I will admit I toned this particular occurrence way down from I originally had in mind, but the middle of this chapter is still traumatic and heart-breaking. You may want to have some tissues ready.

So I'll officially state the following warning: **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A CHARACTER DEATH, CHARACTER SUFFERING AND MILD TORTURE**

That's all for now. As always, all opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 34** - A Friend Made & Lost

Once again Espio found himself in one of Avarice's many hideouts, this time an abandoned thrift store which still had merchandise in it. It was still far from a welcoming place, but was far superior from the apartment building they'd been in before. It was apparent that this building had only been closed for a short time, perhaps a year or two compared too the decades old apartment complex.

Espio was standing in front of a floor mirror. He had stripped himself of his riding suit, the first time he'd done so since donning it the previous night to take his mind-clearing ride. One his purple chest were two distinct puncture marks where the taser darts had struck him. By now they'd sealed over with dark, coagulated blood. The wounds were very sensitive to the touch and oozed slightly when molested. But they were nothing compared to the overall ache in Espio's body. It was not only the tasing, but all the amount running he'd done plus the fact that he didn't know how long it'd been since he'd last slept.

Avarice approached Espio, some supplies in her hands. "Here, I found these."

There was some small bandages and rubbing alcohol. He also noted some pain killers, which were most likely illegally obtained. He passed on on the pills, but took the others. Espio scrubbed the wounds with the alcohol, the sting of which hardly bothered him compared to everything else. He put some bandages over the wounds, wincing as he applied them.

"Those bastards really did a number on you," Avarice commented.

"That's an understatement..." Espio said miserably as he slumped into a nearby chair.

"You alright?" Avarice asked in genuine concern.

"Yes... and no."

"What's on your mind?"

"Much."

"You're probably wondering how I found you, right?"

Espio nodded, as she'd expected. "The truth was I left shortly after you did. Somehow I... I just couldn't let you go off by yourself given what I knew. So I found a cab nearby and told him where I needed to go. Right before I got there I saw your bike so I got out there. Since you left your keys in it I was going ride it into the garage to make things look normal, but right as I got there I saw a black van leave, and... well, when you've been on the streets as long as I have you get a sense for when you've found what you're looking for so I followed the van. I was originally just going to scare those guys off, but they showed me they meant business, so... Well, you know what happened after that."

Espio only nodded slightly. "I hesitate to ask, but..."

Avarice already knew where he was going. "I know what you're going to say. They weren't the first people I've ever shot... But they,along with the others, were always bad, as in they were far bigger criminals than me... Not that I'm saying I liked to or wanted but, like I said that's how it is for me... Welcome to my life."

The detective in Espio was screaming to arrest her, but by now he'd learned to ignore that impulse. "Does Rouge know about what you've done?"

"Of course she does. She's my sister. She knows that I live a fucked-up life. That's why she's been keeping my gun. To try to keep me out of trouble. Fat load of good, it did. I cracked the safe she kept it in in a few minutes. Guess I'm just meant to be this way... And given everything I just said, you'll probably end up arresting me in the end. Guess it's meant to be that way too."

The misery was evident in the feline's voice. Even if she was a career criminal, he could sense that there was a genuine part of her that cared and wanted to be a better person. It was clear now that Avarice was in much the same situation as he. Espio wanted desperately to seek a new life, but was bound by the fate that had fallen upon him.

"I understand how you feel, Avarice. I'm sure you overhead my conversation with Rouge earlier about the change I want in my own life. We're both in the same situation."

Avarice scoffed slightly. "Yeah, _sure_ we are. In the end you might be able to walk away, no problem. Me... I'll end up right back where I was, in jail, or dead."

He moved to the couch she was currently sitting upon. She was surprised at how close he actually sat to her, not to mention that he was looking her right in the eye. "If it is any consolation, you're doing a great deed for justice by helping me. It it weren't for you I wouldn't have made it this far. I might very well have been caught by the police, died in that explosion or failed to escape my captors. There is still hope that this case can be solved because of your actions. I am truly grateful for your help and I am in debt to you for all that you have done for me."

In the dull light of the the abandoned store Espio caught a glimpse of a shiny tear fall from the cat's face. Without words she put her arms around Espio, burying her head into his neck. She shuddered ever so slightly when she felt Espio do the same. It was obvious to him that she was rarely the recipient of kindness such as this.

"It's been a long time since anybody has said something like that to me," she sobbed.

"It's the truth."

Avarice kept her grip, not wanting the kind moment to end. After a while she noticed that Espio seemed to stop responding all together. "Uhh, Espio?"

"..."

"Espio?"

Espio snorted and snapped to attention. "Huh? What?"

Avarice looked closely at Espio's eyes. "Damn, you look like you're stoned. When's the last time you slept?"

"To be honest, I can't remember."

"Then I think it's time you took a break. I'm plenty rested, no thanks to you," Avarice added with slight tease.

"No, I can't stop now I..."

No sooner had Espio gotten to his feet he got dizzy and fell right back onto the couch. "Okay... maybe I _am_ tired."

"Ya think?"

"But it doesn't change that I can't stop now. Clearly we're onto something."

"Wrong. _You're_ onto something."

Espio cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We may both know what's happening here, but clearly whoever those guys were knew who you were. They didn't know who I was. That means that _you're_ a target. I'm not."

Espio pondered this point. "You're right... Based on how they acted and how they'd said I caused enough trouble already, it does seem like they were on to me. But when you showed up they knew nothing at all."

"Exactly. And that's why I'm taking over."

Espio snapped to attention. "What?"

"Think about it. You're wanted by somebody out there. Odds are whoever that is wants you even more now that you escaped and left a few dead henchmen behind. Even if it was me that did the killing, that probably doesn't matter. You're probably wanted dead by now. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to things like this."

With his own knowledge of crime, Espio was impressed with the feline's conclusion. "I can't find any reason to refute you're ideas. Clearly I'm in danger and you're not. So... what are you planning to do?"

"I plan on doing something you can't do. You can't penetrate the criminal world like I can. With the leads we have now, plus some goods to show, I know I can snoop around and get us some answers."

"Goods?"

Avarice reached for the backpack she'd been wearing when she rescued Espio. She revealed that it had the bomb from Rouge's place in it. Espio as a bit shocked to find he'd been clutching a high-powered bomb on their ride over.

"Would have been nice to know that's what I was holding onto."

"Yeah, well, a shootout doesn't exactly leave much time for talking. Anyway, if this thing is as special as you say it is, somebody's bound to know who did the work or where it came from. That's something I'm sure I can figure out. I also have this."

Avarice pulled out one of the full-auto Glocks. "I got this off of the bastard that got out of the van. Same as the bomb, somebody's gotta know something about these too."

"A good start, but do you think that will suffice?"

"To be honest, it would be nice to have a description of the guys that did all of this besides that they like to dress in black, have hot tempers and seem organized."

Espio's weary mind started running through everything that's he'd seen while in the penthouse. Even if it was the tiniest clue, it could do wonders for them now. He analyzed every thing he could remember from the time, but nothing struck him as particularly important. Then a sudden image appeared in his mind, one that he saw just before falling unconscious.

"He had four fingers on his hand."

"What?"

"I passed out from being tasered in the penthouse. Right before I-"

"You were tasered? Damn, no wonder they caught you."

Espio ignored the interruption. "Right before I passed out I saw only four fingers on his hand. And I don't mean as if he'd lost one in an accident. He only had four fingers biologically... He was an Overlander."

Avarice's ears perked up. "Overlander... you mean that alternate form of humanoid that lives on this planet?"

"Yes. Unlike humans with five fingers, which reside in this city and the surrounding areas, Overlanders have only four fingers."

"Yeah, and I also know they have one hell of a bad attitude."

"Indeed they do. Wars before our time were fought between our species and theirs. And..."

"And?"

"When we fought in the war against Robotnik, we fought against the worst Overlander this world has ever known."

The feline was starting to put things together. ""I'll stop you right there and say there's no way this is Robotnik. That sick fuck got banished after the end of the war by practically every nation in the world. There's no way he'd sneak his way into a high-scale city like this. But, I do know for a fact that there's plenty of Overlanders here in Station Square. I've seen plenty of 'em. They fit in a lot better here than in Mobian-populated areas. And let me tell you, the ones who came into the criminal world live up to their reputation. I speak with experience. In fact..."

Avarice retrieved her revolver along with a few boxes from her backpack. "Knowing what I do now, if I'm gonna be probing around anything that deals with Overlanders, I'm gonna be prepared. Help me with these."

Espio picked up the small plastic devices Avarice had tossed to him. He identified them as five-shot revolver speed loaders. Looking at her weapon he identified it as a Charter Arms Shamrock Undercover Lite model, which shot a .38 Special cartridge and came fittingly in a black and green color scheme. Espio picked up one of her boxes of ammo.

"135 grain +P Speer Gold Dot hollow-points?" he asked rhetorically.

"Damn straight. Nothing but the best...," she trailed off as she checked the many black boxes for ammo. "Damn, I've really used these... Shit! Every one is almost empty!"

"Let's empty them all and see what we come up with."

After emptying several boxes they accumulated a pile of thirty rounds.

"That's just enough for my five speed loaders and the gun. Perfect."

"Pardon me for asking, is there any reason you chose that gun?," Espio asked out of curiosity.

"Aside from the color it's about all I could afford and handle. The only time I fired a magnum the damn thing came back and hit me in the face. And besides, it's not about how powerful the round is or how many shots you have. It's how good a shot you are, and this morning I think I proved I'm a pretty damn good shot."

"I'll have to take your word for it. I was stuck in a van, remember?" Espio stated slyly.

Avarice rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just shut up and help me load these clips."

Espio hesitated for a moment. It dawned on him that he was actually helping a criminal, one that was probably highly-sought after by the S.S.P.D. But given the circumstances he had to agree that if he wanted to get anywhere he needed to adapt the the situation. Taking the ammo he started slipping the rounds into the clips. Avarice meanwhile loaded the black and green snub-nose revolver's chamber with the rounds. Once loaded she stood up and lifted the back of her shirt to tuck it into the back of her pants. Espio observed her concealing the firearm, but inadvertently caught a glimpse of her green underwear that rose above her belt line. She caught him looking, forcing him to look away quickly.

"Did you like that?"

"I was only observing the concealment of your firearm," he responded coolly.

"Yeah, and some whale tail while you were at it," she said with a hint of seduction.

"Only inadvertently."

"Oh yeah? Then why are you blushing?"

Only then did Espio notice the heat in his cheeks. "Because it was an accident."

"Yeah. You just keep telling yourself that."

"I will," Espio answered as he tossed the full speed loaders to Avarice. "So what's your plan?"

"It's simple," she answered, tucking the speed loaders into her backpack. "I'll start off with my closest connections and see if they can point me in the right direction. If they can't help I'll go to some expects and hot spots I've heard of that might know a thing or two. If that doesn't work then I'll use up a few favors and go deep to see what I can find."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Then... I don't have a fucking clue. But trust me, I don't think that's gonna happen. With goods like these somebody will know something."

Espio nodded in understanding. The simple act of doing so made another sleep spell start to overcome him, but Avarice tapped his face and brought him out of it. "You really need some sleep. You're about a step away from being a zombie, and we all know what to do to a zombie," she said with a sly smirk.

"No thanks, I'd rather not take a hollowpoint to the head."

"I know you wouldn't. Come on, there's a really nice bed over here."

Avarice guided Espio to what used to be the expensive section, for a thrift store at least. There was a king-sized four-post bed with a fairly new mattress and curtains dropping down from the top posts of the frame.

"When I stay here this is what I like to use. It's damn comfy."

Espio tossed his riding suit at the foot of the bed and sat on its edge, noting it was indeed quite comfortable. However, he was filled with discomfort, and Avarice knew it. She sat beside him. "Hey, relax. I'm on your side, remember? I'm not going to double-cross you. I want to get to a bottom of this just as much as you do. And we will. I promise."

The was a genuine tone in the feline's voice that Espio had never heard before. He nodded in understanding. "I just hope that it's not too late already... for my partners or whoever else may be involved in all of this."

The feline put her hand on Espio's shoulder to reassure him. "Don't you think like that. You hear me? _Don't._"

Avarice got up from the bed and started to walk out. "I always come in through the back door, so if anybody comes in from the front you know it isn't me. And I'm the only one that knows how to get the faulty lock in the back to unlatch, so ain't nobody coming in there but me. You just chill and get some shuteye and let me be the detective, alright?"

Once again, Espio nodded. She nodded in return, grabbed the packback and left through the back door. He listened as he heard her ride away on his motorcycle, and then all was silent. He was alone in the dark, deserted building. He tried to look around to be more aware of his surroundings, but as soon as he leaned his head back to look up and fell straight back onto the bed. Barely awake he just managed to pull himself up to the pillows and burrow himself into them and under the sheets. One final thought crossed his mind before sleep overcame him.

_"An Overlander... Could this be Robotnik after all?..."_

* * *

Morning turned to midday. Midday turned to afternoon. Afternoon turned to rush hour. Rush hour turned to evening. By then Robotnik was extremely agitated. What should have taken until lunch had now taken an entire day. The plan had been so simple. Everybody on Sonic's team was supposed to be close by right after the job. Capturing everybody should have been so easy. Yet with each passing hour every member became increasingly more difficult to track down or put up a resistance far more difficult than what was anticipated or that could have been dealt with given Robotnik's available technology and weaponry. In addition to capturing members of the team, several other high-value members were still unaccounted for, including a certain purple chameleon who'd seemingly vanished.

_"Dr. Robotnik?"_ came Snively's voice over Robotnik's communicator.

"Did you find that damn chameleon yet!"

_"Eep!... No sir... But"_

"This better be a really good but, Snively."

_"It is, sir. We have finally succeeded in capturing your rival."_

"My rival?" Robotnik said rhetorically pleased. "_Really_..."

_"Yes sir. And his lover."_

"His... _lover?_"

_"Yes sir, the plant-like specimen."_

"That's... that's not possible! She died years ago after our battle with the Metarex!"

_"I assure you, sir. She is alive and well."_

"Hmm... Are they in their holding cell?"

_"Yes sir. They are still under the effects of the sedatives as well."_

"Excellent. Meet me in the Roboticizer room."

_"The Roboticizer room?"_

"Yes. I have an idea. I think you'll enjoy this."

_"Yes sir. I'll be there in a few minutes."_

The communicator cut out. Getting to his feet from his throne room Robotnik was rubbing his hands together with anticipation and giggling excitedly. He pranced his way through the refinery to the Roboticizer room. He'd beaten Snively there so he brought up an image on a computer screen. The image was a security feed from the many cells now housing the captured members of Sonic's team and friends. He checked on Sonic and the others briefly. They were still unconscious due to a light flow of sedative gases in the cell. Pleased with the site Robotnik switched the feed to the newest prisoners. The screen displayed a pair of beings. The first was an alien plant girl with green leaf-like hair and the other a yellow-orange two-tailed fox. It was difficult to believe that the Seedrian actually existed, but there was no denying the image. She truly was alive and well.

"Unbelievable... the little bastard actually brought her back to life... _Interesting_..."

The door to the room unlatched and Snively entered "Here I am, sir."

"I can see that. But not as clearly as I can see my long-time and much hated rival and his supposed-to-be-dead lover."

Robotnik chuckled as he rubbed his palms together like a giddy kindergartener. Snively was quite curious as to why this was. Robotnik motioned for Snively to come forward.

"My dear nephew... do you know why I'm so happy?"

"Um..."

"Well?"

"I suppose... it's because you're finally going to get even with Tails?"

"Exactly! But... do you know how I'm going to do that?"

"I assume it will involve the Roboticizer some how."

"Right again. But do you know exactly what I'm going to do?"

"I'm afraid not, sir."

Robotnik motioned for Snively to come closer. He excitedly whispered his plan in his nephew's ear. Snively listened intently, but at the end of the description he was left in confusion.

"That's not quite what I thought you were going to say, sir."

"Oh? Did you think a simple roboticization would be enough? No, Tails deserves far worse. For all the trouble he's caused me over the years, he's more than earned what I'm about to do to him."

Snively tilted his head in acknowledgement. "I can see your point, sir. You are right. After everything the fox has done to us, we do need to teach him a lesson."

"I'm glad you think so" Robotnik answered, then cackled with excitement. "Kindly deactivate the sedative spray in Tails' cell and activate the antidote, Snively. It's time to make Tails pay."

"Yes, sir. However, might I just ask... why you're doing this now?"

Robotnik grinned. "Why wait? Besides, I figure this is just an appetizer. Believe me, this is only the beginning for what I have in mind for the rest of them."

It was hard to imagine Robotnik's black and red eyes could be any sinister, but Snively could sense in the evil one's eyes that he had something planned that was going to wreak absolute havoc and hell not only on Tails, but eventually all the other captives.

Going over to a control panel next to the screens Snively entered a code the ceased the fine amount of gaseous sedative in the cell. Entering another code a new mist was sprayed into the room, this one meant to wake the pair from the drug. For a few minutes nothing happened, but slowly the antidote began to take effect and the pair slowly starting to come to.

Robotnik watched eagerly as his rival woke up. "I've waited for this day for such a long time..."

* * *

Down in the cell Tails' eyes slowly peeled open. His vision was blurry from the heavy sedatives he'd been under and he was aware that he was lying face-down on a hard, cold surface. As his eyes came into focus he found himself lying on the bare, dimly-lit, tight-quartered cell. Looking around he saw that there was no other furniture in the cell and only a set of very-sturdy bars blocked exit from the cube. Tails wanted to ponder the cell longer, but a slight moan beside him made him realize he wasn't alone.

Looking over he saw his lover, Cosmo, just coming to consciousness. "Cosmo! Cosmo, wake up!"

"Umph... Tails... is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Wh... Where are we?"

"We're in some sort of prison cell, it looks like. But as far as where this cell is exactly I don't know."

"What happened?," she continued groggily. "We were flying and came under attack..."

"Just relax," he said calmly, pulling her closer to him. "I don't know what happened. It was some sort of missile attack. Silver fought off most of them, but then... Oh shit! What about Silver and Blaze? They were in the X-Tornado with us too!"

_"Indeed they were, fox boy."_

Tails snapped to attention, as did Cosmo. The voice came from a TV screen that lowered from an opening in the ceiling. They were being stared at by Robotnik. _"Psychokinesis is very effective against physical objects that you can see, but when you're under attack by laser energy that you can't see, well... that makes for an enemy you can't avoid."_

Tails was confused. "What? How did you target us with a laser? And from where? And where are Silver and Blaze!"

_"Isn't that the beauty of a laser? It can hit a target from so far away that you don't know where it comes from. I will say that since you were flying over the ocean at the time a certain aquatic submersible I have access to was responsible, but I won't reveal any more than that. As for your friends... you don't have to worry about them."_

Tails' anger was building. "You bastard! If they're dea... if they're hurt I swear I'll make you pay for it!"

_"I highly doubt you could do anything to me given your current position. However, you need not worry, fox boy. Killing anybody aboard your aircraft was never my intention."_

"Oh yeah? Then what was your intention?"

_"To capture you, of course."_

"Why would you do such a thing!" Cosmo suddenly chimed in. "We finished your job! What more do you want from us?"

Robotnik's red pupils shifted to Cosmo. _"Ahh... Cosmo. The Seedrian who sacrificed herself to win the war against the Metarex. You're looking rather... **alive**."_

Tails shielded Cosmo behind him. "And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

_"Quite a defensive tone, eh fox boy? It's not like it's some great secret. I was there when Cosmo sacrificed herself. Why, I was the one who encouraged you to do so. I was simply remarking that she's alive again. After all, wouldn't you be shocked to see somebody alive again who you watched die?"_

A certain sense of unease was building in Tails' gut. He did not like the way Robotnik was talking. This heightened sense of awareness made Tails flinch harder than usual when he heard Cosmo gasp behind him. Looking out he could see several other cells holding various prisoners. Directly across from them was another cell with two humans he didn't know, both lying completely still. From his vantage point he could partially see into the cells adjacent to the one in front of them. He could see others in them, but the dim lighting made it impossible to know who they were.

Tails had had enough. "Alright, 'Buttnik! Enough is enough! I want to know what you're doing! Why did you bring us here?"

_"Stealing one of Sonic's lines? How unoriginal. And I thought you were the smart one. But then again, I guess you are the smart one."_

The fox's eyebrows arched. "What are you playing at?"

_"Isn't is obvious? Just moments ago I was commenting on Cosmo's miraculous return to life. Clearly that didn't happen by accident, and obviously the Chaos Regenerate spells that Sonic and Shadow used only brought back a seed. Somehow you had to have done something to change her back to her current form."_

Both beings started silently at the screen. _"That's right Tails... I know what you did. You took my technology and modified it for yourself. If I could build a machine to make living creature robots, then you could surely modify that design to transform living matter into another form. It's basically the same technique, wouldn't you say?"_

Tails was hesitant to answer. Somehow he felt he was being lead into a trap. _"Oh come now Tails, it's a simple question."_

Taking a deep breath, Tails decided to give a simple answer. "Yes... it is the same thing. The only difference is I used the powers for good."

Robotnik nodded his head. _"Ah, yes yes yes... Yes you did. And quite a noble thing to do, I might add. Sadly I'm afraid you still copied my idea. I don't take kindly to that. I'm afraid you'll have to pay the penalty."_

With no time to react a strange set of robotic arms with cable-like mechanisms shot from openings in the walls, ceiling and floor of the cell. In an instant they binded Tails' appendages and pulled them taught. The remaining cables constricted his body tightly. He was now held aloft in the middle of the cell under the crushing pressure of the cables that simultaneously tried to pull him in every direction. Tails howled as every nerve in his body seared with pain. Cosmo was crying hysterically as she tried to pry the cables free, but it was completely futile as none of them would budge. Before long another set of cables shot out of the ceiling and binded Cosmo as well, though not nearly to the extent as Tails.

Robotnik gave them a moment to get over the initial shock. Once they'd quieted slightly he chuckled. _"You see Tails, there's only enough room on Mobius for one person with the intelligence you and I share. And we both know full well that I could never let that one person be you."_

Tails growled as he struggled to breath under the crushing cables. "Dammit, Robotnik! Let Cosmo go! She's been through enough already!"

_"Don't worry about Cosmo, fox boy. She won't have to suffer much longer. You, on the other hand..."_

In his mind, Tails accepted his fate. "Fine... I accept that this is how it's meant to be for me. I only ask that you don't make Cosmo watch. Please... grant me that final request."

Robotnik only chuckled. _"Don't worry, Tails. Cosmo isn't going to see you die. I can guarantee that."_

Tails sighed in relief, as least as much as he could while being constricted. He looked over to his lover. Heavy tears were running down her face. "It's alright, Cosmo. Please don't cry. As long as you're alive that's what I care about. I can die in peace that way. Just remember... until the very end... I love you." Tears fell slowly from Tails' eyes, but they poured from Cosmo's as he showed her a brave smile. He turned back to face the screen. "Alright, Robotnik, I'm ready. like Sonic always used to say... let's do it to it."

Robotnik only chuckled. _"Are you sure that's all you want to say to your dearly beloved Cosmo?"_

"Yes... That's all that matters."

_"Very well."_

In that moment Tails expected to be crushed to death. He heard the robotic arms and cables activating and closed his eyes, not wanting to see his demise coming. Next to him he could hear Cosmo cry out for him. He was certain this was it.

His eyes shot open in surprise when he heard Cosmo scream. He looked up in time to see her bindings pull her through a portal in the ceiling into a dark tunnel. No sooner had he saw her the portal's door closed.

Tails turned to find Robotnik grinning at him on the screen. The sudden adrenaline rush in him made him forget he was bound and he ignore that discomfort. "What are you doing! Where did shego!" Tails shouted. "**TELL ME!**"

_"Calm down, fox boy. She should be here right about... now."_

Behind Robotnik on the screen Cosmo's shouting voice landed with a thud. Robotnik moved aside to reveal her sitting inside a large glass tube on top of a large machine. It only took a moment for Tails to know what it was.

"No..."

_"Yes,"_ Robotnik added with a giggle.

"NO!" Tails screamed to Robotnik. "You bastard! You said it was me you wanted to kill! Leave her out of this!"

_"I said that Cosmo wouldn't have to watch you die, but I never said I was going to kill you, did I?"_

Tails thought back to the statements Robotnik had made to him. Robotnik was right. "You bastard! You tricked me!"

_"Not the first time that has happened, is it fox boy? And now I have both of you right where I want you."_

Through the screen Cosmo and Tails made eye contact. It was quick becoming obvious what Robotnik had in mind. Without further words Robotnik began typing into a console and pushing buttons. The Roboticizer started to activate the machine.

"Robotnik, wait! Don't do this! This is between you and me! Leave her out of this!"

Robotnik cocked an eyebrow. _"You know something, fox boy... You're absolutely right. This is between you and me. I have no reason to do this to Cosmo."_

Tails breathed a sigh of relief and through the screen gave Cosmo a reassuring look. "Thank you..."

_"You're welcome... Snively, kindly take over for me."_

Once again the lovers looked at each other via the closed-circuit TV's. Cosmo could only sit in stunned silence, knowing full well what was about to happen to her. Tails too knew that Snively wouldn't care about anything and would do what Robotnik said out of fear. Tails could only watch as Snively activated the machine. With a single button push away, the two looked at each other once more. Neither could say anything. Neither could do anything. A metal covering dropped around the tube and a series of high-pitched buzzes, much like high-voltage electricity, mechanical whines and pulsing sounds emanated from the machine.

A hollow feeling filled Tails' gut as he watched helplessly. He couldn't even imagine what was happening to Cosmo as he watched. The only thing he did feel was a growing sense of rage at what was happening. He also knew that no matter what, he was going to make Robotnik pay for this and someway, somehow he'd save Cosmo and turn her back to normal.

Finally the machine stopped and opened. It revealed an entirely robotic version of Cosmo that maintained some of her original colors. Robotnik sighed in content. _"Ahh... another beautiful masterpiece. What do you think, Tails?"_

The tone of Robotnik's voice was meant to anger Tails. It succeeded. **"YOU BASTARD! I SWEAR I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS! YOU WILL LIVE TO LIVE TO REGRET THIS DAY! I WILL SAVE HER, I WILL RETURN HER TO NORMAL, AND I WILL BRING YOUR ASS DOWN!"**

During his rant, Tails felt almost invincible. But one cold glare from Robotnik's lifeless eyes made him feel like an 8-year-old kit again. _"You seem to have developed quite a confidence these days, fox boy. Since when do you think you're so powerful? The last I checked you only played a small role in my defeat six years ago. And the handful of one-on-one defeats between you and I mean nothing. In the grand scheme of things I am far more powerful that you in almost every way. To think you could do anything to stop me or make me regret what I've done is impossible. I am offended by the mere thought that you think you could do such a thing..."_ Robotnik trailed off.

Robot walked to a control panel with a keyboard and many buttons. After some typing and button pressing the screen brought up a prompt:

**EXECUTE ORDER:_**

Robotnik typed in the number "66" and entered the order. The screen changed to say "Executing..." with a status bar that was filling. After a few moments the status bar was full and the screen stated "COMMENCING." Cosmo's eyes lit up red and she walked off the Roboticizer pad and out of the room. Tails was terrified as he wondered just where she could possibly be going.

_"I think I'll let you watch her journey,"_ Robotnik stated.

The image changed to another security camera in the refinery, this time in a hallway just out of the Roboticizer room. Like a lifeless zombie she walked past the camera, which swiveled on its base to follow her. Several times the image went to a new camera, following her every move. The next image re-instilled Tails with a sense of dread as Cosmo stated to walk across a high walkway through the center of the refinery. In the very middle of it she came to a stop and paused. She stood completely still.

_"I don't like this..."_ Tails though in fear.

Tails started to hope that something had gone wrong and that she would just stay there. His hopes were dashed when the view switched to a large crane and bucket that was filled with scrap metal. It was headed for an equally large furnace with the top open. The view switched back to Cosmo, this time at a different angle. The walkway she was standing on was just above and to the side of the furnace. Cosmo''s robotic eyes were fixated on the bucket of scrap, then switched to the furnace, then back to nothing in particular. A realization hit Tails' brain like a bullet.

"Oh no... Oh _please_ no..."

There was only one other time in Tails' life when a jolt went through his nerves like it was now. Before, it was when he was forced to pull the trigger that killed her. Now, it was watching her being controlled outside of her will and straight to her doom. Tails did the only thing he thought he could do. Beg.

"Robotnik, no! Please don't do this!"

His pleas went unheard. On-screen the bucket was getting close to the furnace. Desperation was starting to take over the fox's mind.

"Robotnik, please! Don't do this to her!"

Only Robotnik's voice came through the TV. _"Be quiet Tails, I'm trying to enjoy the show."_

"Oh my God, please stop! Please _please_ don't do this!"

The bucket had reached the furnace and hovered above it. When the camera switched back to Cosmo Tails' heart nearly stopped. She had unlatched a portion of the walkway's safety rails and and standing with her arms out and back towards the furnace on the edge of the walkway.

Tails grew beyond desperate. "ROBOTNIK, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I'M BEGGING YOU! DON'T DO THIS! I DON'T CARE WHAT I HAVE TO DO OR WHAT IT TAKES!** PLEASE DON'T KILL HER!"**

The prospect of watching his true love die again was over-bearing. Tails's eyes were free-flowing and he could not prevent whimpers and sobs anymore. Suddenly the screen switched back to the Roboticizer room. Robotnik stepped into frame.

Tails looked up to find Robotnik frowning at him. _"For years you've been nothing but a thorn in my side. You've foiled my plans, destroyed my creations, stolen my ideas and interrupted many a brilliant operation I devised. I have truly come to loathe your existence. But the only thing I've hated even more is that no matter how hard I have tried, nothing has seemed to be able to break your spirit and bring you down. Somehow you've always come back. But now you've I believe you've shown me your truest weakness..."_

The camera went back to Cosmo. She was still as death, waiting for the next electronic command to tell her what to do. Tails could not hold back anymore. He broke into a full on cry, forcing himself to look away from Robotnik.

_"Look at me, Tails... **Look at me.**"_

It was difficult enough to raise his head, but talking was almost impossible. "Don't kill her... _please_ don't kill her... I can't go through it again... I _can't_... Not again..."

Robotnik's voice played over the image of Cosmo standing on the edge of the platform. _"And so I am right. I can't say I'm surprised. Given the way you crumbled when she sacrificed herself, with your help no less, I thought you'd never recover. But you got a second chance thanks to those damned hedgehogs Sonic and Shadow. And thanks to you stealing and modifying my design of the Roboticizer, you brought her back to life."_

The view went back to Robotnik's hideous face. _"She's supposed to be dead and you know it. Yet you felt you had to bring her back to a form of life that would please you. What gives you the right to have power over life and death? What gives you the right to decide who comes back? What gives you the right to not share such an opportunity with anybody else?... It seems to me that you are trying to act like a god, Tails."_

The screen switched back to the furnace. For a few moments nothing happened. Time slowed down as Tails prayed with every fiber of his being that somehow things would turn for the better.

_"You may be a kitsune, but a god you are **not**. You do not have the right or ability to posses such power... You are **pathetic**. I, on the other hand, am a god not just in theory, but in actuality. If you do not believe me, then allow me to prove it to you."_

Cosmo's eyes lit up read in response to a command. Behind her the bucket split open, dumping its ton of junk metal into the furnace. A cloud of grey smoke and bright yellow light emanated from the furnace as the metal fell in. The horror that unfolded in the next few seconds occurred in slow motion to the helpless fox. Cosmo jumped into a backwards somersault and disappeared into the light and smoke. Tails could only gasp.

The bucket quickly moved out of the way and the lid to the furnace shut. A set of huge black electrodes started to shoot 56 millions watts of electricity into the furnace, melting all of its contents. Tails was paralyzed by the images. He ceased to think, to feel, to move, to breathe, to hear or to sense in any other way except to see. His mind barely registered when Robotnik showed his face with a disgusting grin.

_"Robotnik giveth, and Robotnik... taketh **away**."_

The image on the screen cut out and the screen retracted into the ceiling. The robotic vices that gripped Tails also released and retreated into their compartments. Tails fell the the floor onto his hands and knees. He was barely aware of this fact. In his brain there were alternating images of the happy times with Cosmo and the day he'd lost her. But just as he got to the point in his memory when he would have shot Cosmo to defeat the Metarex and eventually revive her, it switched to that of her lifeless robotic body falling into a molten furnace. That's where his memory stopped. No white seed recovered. No growing of her plant. No revival of her anthropomorphic form. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was a pause as this thought penetrated Tails' cerebrum.

It started with a sob which grew into silent but strained tears. As his emotions grew stronger Tails could only bury his face in his hands and weep. No matter how hard he poured out his emotions, they did not reduce the misery he felt. He only continued to feel worse as he collapsed to the floor in despair. He soon started to quiver and flinch upon the floor in grief, his fists clenched and shaking. Intermixed with his tears were grunts and growls of frustration.

Holding still for a moment, in a strained, raspy voice Tails spoke quietly to himself. "Oh god, no... No no _no no no **no no**_... not again... not _again_... **NOT AGAIN!**"

Tails had reached his breaking point. He took in a wheezy, deep, sob-laden breath, reared up on his knees and screamed in agony at the absolute top of his lungs. The painful memories of the past had returned to him, and this time they hurt more than he could possibly imagine. That pain drove the scream to a level of angst and suffering the likes of which the fox had never felt before.

* * *

Espio woke with a jolt and sat straight up. His breathing was quick and shallow and he was sweating slightly. He'd been having a horrible nightmare in which he'd seen countless people, some of whom were as close as his friends and team, to people he'd never met nor knew existed. Everybody seemed to be suffering in the dream, but it was never quite apparent as to why or how. The only thing he could make out was a pair of red eyes watching from a constant overhead darkness and a low, maniacal laugh that somehow seemed familiar. The point at which he woke up was when a young male voice that also seemed familiar roared in despair.

Slowly Espio began to regain his grasp on reality and realize he was still on the bed in the thrift store. With a deep sigh while rubbing his head Espio tried to shake off the strange dream, though the scream at the end stayed with him.

_"Why did that voice seem so familiar?... So close?... Who was it?... And why were they suffering so much?..."_

There came a knock on the front door of the building. For a moment Espio assumed it to be Avarice, but then something she'd said before she left returned to him.

_"I always come in through the back door, so if anybody comes in from the front you know it isn't me."_

It could have been anybody, perhaps some kids randomly walking by and causing some ruckus or a homeless person trying to get in. At any rate he knew it wasn't Avarice, but the person outside sure wanted anybody inside to know who it was via a megaphone.

**"This is the Station Square Police Department! We have a search warrant! Come out with your hands up, or we will come in after you!"**

All thoughts of the the dream left Espio's mind. _"**What!** How did they find me?... Could Avarice have... NO! I won't believe that! She's on my side!"_

**"This is your final warning! Surrender now!"**

Espio only smirked. _"You couldn't catch me before, and you're damn sure not going to catch me now."_

Espio turned himself invisible and vacated the bed. Given the darkness of the building and late hour of the day he felt certain he could escape. Wasting no time he made use of the walls and shadows. He knew that the back door wasn't an option since only Avarice could open it, and the front door was obviously out. There were several air vents that he was more than certain would lead him to safety and escape.

With a slam the front door was broken down and a team of four officers entered, two with semi-automatic handguns and two with shotguns. As they spread throughout the floor Espio crept his was up the wall to the ceiling. Beneath him the officer scurried about, completely unaware that Espio was overhead. Glancing over Espio saw one of them go into the area where he'd been sleeping all day.

"Hey guys, look at this!" the officer shouted.

Immediately all of the officers scrambled over to the bed. Seizing his opportunity, Espio clambered across the ceiling to an air duct that had collapsed. It allowed him easy access straight into the ceiling and shortly thereafter he found an access panel that lead out to the roof. Espio was amazed that by pure luck he'd chosen the one duct that lead to the rooftop air-conditioner unit.

"Hmph. All too easy."

Espio knew he could get away easily now, but through the vent he could hear indiscernible chatter from the officers. They did not sound pleased. Despite his eagerness to flee, the detective in the chameleon told him to stay. Judging by how the voices were growing weaker he guessed that they were going to the front door. He quickly made his way to the front of the building, taking shelter behind its raised front facade. Peering around carefully he observed two officers get into squad cars and drive off. The other two stayed around outside of a police van. One of them reached for his radio microphone, the other tossed Espio's riding suit into the back of the van.

"Dispatch, this is Unit 7. Suspect lost. We're returning to Headquarters."

_"Copy that, Unit 7."_

Espio was intrigued. _"Whoever taught them to act did a good job. And they even have a fake dispatcher."_

Surprisingly, the officers below started a conversation. "Do you believe this? We travel all the way out here just to find an empty bed and a smelly riding suit is all we're coming away with?"

"I hear ya. A real let down. I was so looking forward to this too. Ya know, actually get to do something interesting for once?"

_"Hmph.. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you,"_ Espio thought sarcastically with a grin.

"Yeah... But hey, at least we caught that bitch at long last. What was her name again?"

"Her street name is Avarice."

Espio nearly gasped aloud. _"Impossible! How could they have known about her?"_

"Yeah, that's it. Perfect name for her."

"You mean Avarice, or Bitch?"

"Haha! Actually, Bitch is more like it! I mean have you ever heard someone put up a fight like she did when she was brought in earlier?"

"I know! And it's not like she didn't see this coming!"

"You're not kidding! I mean, she kills two guys in broad daylight? Did she really think she could hide that?"

"Or did she really think she could run from us forever?"

"That's what they all think."

"Yup."

_"Who are these people! How are they keeping track of us!" Espio thought desperately._

"Well, not much more to do here, I guess."

"Nope, let's get back and see if Bitch has done anything interesting."

"Sounds good."

Espio watched the two officers get back into the van. Once inside he could hear the driver's half of one quick conversation.

"Just makes you wonder what's gonna happen to her now that we've got her... Yeah, probably... Whatever the case, she'll end up dead in the end..."

The can started and began to drive away. In Espio's mind one thought stood out amongst the others.. _"They've got her... and they're going to kill her... **I can't let this happen!**"_

Espio broke into another freerun across the rooftops to catch up to the departing van. After hopping across several rooftops he came to a very tight alleyway that lead out straight ahead of him. In an incredible display of acrobatics he kicked off of the final rooftop and soared through the air. A long-since disconnected power line between the alleyway gave Espio a point to grab on to. His momentum spun him around the line one full rotation and he dropped down to the ground. It was a harsh landing, but he completed it. He could hear the van coming so he broke into a full sprint. Just as he reached the end of the alley the van was passing in front of him. Cutting at an angle he dove and got a single hand on the metal step-up ladder on the van's left rear door. For several feet Espio stumbled before finally getting his other hand on the ladder and pulling himself up. He crawled up the ladder to the roof of the van where he laid flat and went invisible.

_"I'm going into the lion's den on this one... but I don't care. I will solve this case, and I will not lose another team member... Hang on, Avarice. I'm on my way."_


	35. A Break In, Breakthrough, & Break Out

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**:**  
**

And so it's time at last for the next update to this saga.

Numerous rewrites of this chapter, along with the usual college demands, have delayed its posting. Even now I'm not that happy with it. To be honest not a whole lot happens in this chapter but I at least hope you find it enjoyable. I tried to make it as exciting and suspenseful as possible.

Also, as you'll be able to tell by the end of this chapter we're coming to the finale of this story. I've been thinking about this part of the story for a long time so I think I've got most of it figured out. My plan is to write the next segment of this story, the final action sequence, in its entirety. Most likely it will be quiet lengthy so it may end up being a two-parter. We'll have to see what happens as I write it.

As always, all opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 35** - A Break In, Breakthrough, & Break Out

The ride on the roof felt like it was in slow motion to Espio. The risk he was taking with his current actions were substantial. He'd come so far that to fail now would be unthinkable. Even so, he was missing a critical piece of information. Without Avarice there would be no point in trying to continue. By now she must have found something, but even that was no guarantee. He might very well be risking all of this only to find out she'd learned nothing at all.

The thought of this being pointless made Espio feel guilty inside. _"This is not pointless... Even if she didn't find anything I have to save her. I **will** save her. And if luck is on my side... I might be able to help me team too."_

The surroundings were starting to look familiar as the police van Espio clung to moved its way through the city. He knew that they were quick approaching the S.S.P.D. headquarters. With his knowledge of the structure he did have the advantage of knowing where everything was and how he might be able to best get around without being detected. On the other end of the spectrum, he knew that this time there was absolutely no room for error. Not only that, if anything did go wrong this time there was little if any chance that he'd be able to escape.

Even with this new realization Espio's nerves were a bit on edge as the police van traveled down the final block to the headquarters. In that instant he remembered that the police vans always parked in the underground garage. In the garage the elevator required an access card to summons it. Additionally, the air vents in the garage were monitored with infra-red systems, so going in through any of them was out. There were drainage vents in the garage, but most were far too small to enter. Finally, the only staircase lead right into the building past a security checkpoint. To go into the garage would trap him.

Looking around quickly Espio had to think of how he was going to get in. The front door was impossible. A window was also out of the question since the entire structure was covered in glass panels. This also meant that climbing the side of the building would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. With options dwindling Espio spotted something out of the ordinary. A large piping system was running down the back of the building. Espio suddenly remembered that some rooms of the building was being renovated, thus the presence of the trash chute. More than likely that chute was not going to be as monitored as any known entrance to the building.

The van pulled off of the main road and onto a small side street. As the van slowed to a crawl to turn onto the ramp near the backside of the building Espio slid off the right side of the roof and down to the ground, taking shelter just behind the concrete wall rising up on either side of the ramp. The van continued on down the ramp, clearly unaware that Espio had been there or slid from the roof.

Not wasting a second Espio sprinted for the cover of the alleyway behind the S.S.P.D. H.Q where the trash chute was. The pipe ran down the backside of the building and into a large open-topped industrial dumpster. Espio hugged the walls as he approached, not wanting to cast a shadow or make his presence apparent. Reaching the dumpster Espio took one last look around he didn't see anybody around and on this side of the dumpster the one security camera that was facing him wouldn't see him entering the dumpster.

Carefully Espio climbed the side of the dumpster and let himself down inside, making sure to keep the bottom of the chute between himself and the camera. Now safely inside the dumpster he began to crawl towards the opening of the chute. It wasn't easy to do so since shard of glass, nails, splinters of wood and other large construction debris stood between him and the other end of the dumpster. Regardless Espio reached the chute. It was rigidly constructed and attached to the side of the building, so it hopefully wouldn't sway too much or make a lot of noise as he climbed it.

_"This is a new one..."_ Espio thought to himself as he started to crawl up the chute.

Spreading his arms and legs Espio began to spider-climb up the chute. At first it didn't seem like the climb was going to be so bad given the tight quarters of the chute. However, just a mere ten feet up Espio hit a patch of thick dust on the inside of the chute and nearly slipped. Only his strength and proficiency in this climbing technique kept Espio from falling back down to the bottom. Doing so came at the cost of strength and endurance. Already Espio's limbs began to burn with fatigue.

Putting that out of his mind Espio continued. The only thing he focused on was reaching the top. For a while longer he kept a good pace before something else became apparent to him. In the middle of the chute the air was stagnant and hot, making his breaths harder to take and sweat to start rolling from his forehead. He had no choice but to stop for just a second to get a second wind. At that moment he started to hear a rattling sound overhead. Looking up the dark chute he could see a collection of small objections start to fall in the light coming from the building. There was no knowing what the debris was as Espio closed his eyes and kept his head down. A shower of drywall particles rained down on Espio and scattered past him and down the chute. He was relieved that it wasn't anything more dangerous, but it occurred to him that more was likely to come. Sure enough after a few more feet another shower of drywall rained down. This time Espio just looked away and kept going as he passed the three-quarters point of the climb.

As Espio neared the top his limbs were on the verge of giving out. It took all of his concentration and effort to continue the climb despite having had numerous more loads of drywall debris dumped on top of him. With only feet left to go Espio had noticed the onslaught of dumping had stopped. He had heard voices most of the climb echoing down the chute, but only now could he just make them out.

"That's about it for the dry wall. I think we're done here."

_"Thank you..."_ Espio thought to himself.

"Hand on sec. Why don't you start tossing those those cinder blocks down as well."

A jolt ran through Espio's nerves. _"Oh no..."_

"Oh come on, man! Haven't we done enough for today?"

_"I think you have."_

"I'm the foreman here, not you. If you want a job tomorrow, you better do as I say."

Espio listened as the angry but unseen construction worked walked to the previously-mentioned cinder blocks. In his mind a torrent of options started to swirl. If he tried to enter hastily he'd been detected for sure. If he went to the bottom he knew he wouldn't have the strength to climb back up again. To stay put meant being pummeled by whole cinder blocks, something which was impossible to withstand. Of the three the only option that held any potential was to try a rushed entry and be detected. There was still a long shot that he could take cover and hide, though at the cost of heightened awareness in the whole building. Taking a breath, Espio prepared to go against all his training and rush his entry.

"Fine, you want the blocks gone? Then let's just do it in one big throw and- AHHHHHHHHH!"

A few loud slams of cinder blocks being dropped, along with a person falling to the floor, channeled down the chute. The unseen foreman ran over to his employee's side.

"What's wrong!"

"Dammit!... AH!... I just threw out my back! Bad!"

"Well this is just great! Just great!"

_"For me, it is."_

The welcome sound of the foreman leading his injured employee away meant that there was now a brief fourth option. Taking full advantage of situation, Espio muscled his way up the last few feet of the chute and with one final pull, he climbed out of the chute and landed upon the floor. The room he was in was under heavy renovation so most of it was bare and unfinished, including one crucial entryway to the rest of the building. For the umpteenth time Espio knew it was time to take to the air vents.

Outside the sound of voices approaching prodded Espio into action. He quietly scurried across the room and scaled the wall, entering the exposed and unguarded air shaft just as the foremen returned with another worker whom he ordered to start tossing the old cinder blocks down the trash chute. Peering over his should Espio saw the first go and could hear it clunk all the down the chute, the loud slam of it hitting the dumpster coming back up the tube. Realizing just how lucky he was Espio made his way down the narrow shaft until it intersected a larger main shaft. It was here the Espio had no choice but to lay down for a second. The lactic acid surging through his muscles made them difficult to move. Taking long, deep breaths the oxygen in Espio's blood increased, binging some reduction in the discomfort and physical exhaustion he was feeling.

After a few minutes of rest Espio felt ready to go. Knowing that he'd entered the back of the building he had to make his way to the front of the structure where the elevator banks were located. As seen through some of the vent grates along the way a lot of the ceiling panels had been removed for the renovation, thus leaving the air ducts exposed. Fortunately, the ruckus of the construction work going on was enough that Espio didn't have to crawl along too slowly. Within a few minutes he'd reached the other side of the floor and could hear the sounds of the electric relays and rumbling tracks of the elevators.

Finally reaching an access point to the elevator shaft Espio peered through. He was on the fifth floor of the ten story building. Where he needed to be was the basement of the facility, where inmates and evidence was kept. However, it occurred to him that with the whole floor under renovation it was likely the fifth floor stop was locked out. Plus, that elevator wouldn't go to the basement anyway. A special elevator in a high-security areas was designated for that.

Regardless, this shaft was the quickest way down. The only way in, however, was through the grate. Initially he wasn't sure how he was going to get through for the grate was not screwed or bolted in. Upon closer inspection he noticed that there was a thin, rubber gasket with a heavy-duty sealant holding it in.

Espio grinned at how easy entry had just become. All he needed was to cut away the gasket and he was in. He reached for a kunai he had in his riding suit pocket, only to remember one crucial fact. With the loss of his riding suit, the only tools Espio had left at his disposal were his hands and brain.

_"Damn!... I'll have to find something I can use."_

With an entire construction team present on the floor Espio was sure he could find a tool nearby. Backing tracking a corner or two Espio headed towards another grate that offered a good view of the floor. When he was but a couple feet from it the grant suddenly got yanked wide open from the outside. Espio froze and went invisible.

"So how much do you want cut around this?" asked a worker on a ladder by the vent opening.

"Just a few inches so we can pull that part of the duct out a bit easier," someone answered. "You're blade alright?"

"Yeah, and I got a few spares here so I should be good."

"Hey, you two!" said a third voice that Espio recognized as the previous foreman. "We need a hand over here carrying some stuff to the dump chute. Come give us a hand"

Both worked sighed and went to take care of the task, but not before the worked tossed his utility knife and a pack of spare blades into the shaft. For the second time Espio couldn't believe his luck. As tempting as it was to just take the knife, it would be missed. Luckily the spare blades were open so Espio took one from the package and made his way back to the elevator shaft. With a little effort the blade cut away the rubber gasket until only a thread of the material was left Espio edged the grate open to get his fingers around the grate to keep it from dropping as he cut the final bit of rubber away. With the grate free he pulled it inside the vent and placed it underneath him.

While Espio had been removing the grate the elevator had shot come to a stop at the 6th floor just above him, leaving the path down open. Espio knew that at the bottom of the shafts were probably more air vents to get him where he needed to go. Guessing he'd probably need the blade again he dug it into the rubber of the sole of his shoe to carry it. Looking over the edge there was a small ledge only a few feet below him with cables running down to it. The plan was to simply scale down the shaft on the cables and take breaks at the small ledges all the way down.

Espio swung his legs over the edge shimmied himself over the edge. Reaching out he blindly grabbed one of the cables and pulled himself over to it and grabbed on with both hands and slowly lowered his way down to the ledge below. His arms were still quite fatigued, but given that the climb was going down and there were breaks involved it wasn't going to be as big an issue. Then the speaker on the elevator beeped as the doors rumbled open.

**"GOING DOWN."**

Espio could hardly believe his ears. _"This is not happening."_

Several electric relays switched on in the shaft and the elevator began to descend. Espio had only seconds to figure out what to do. He could try to descend the guide cables, but their rough texture would make it difficult to do so and they very well could slice through his gloves and hands if he tried to slide down them. He could try to jump from ledge to ledge, but in near darkness and little room for error that was one step above suicide. The only suitable option was to grab hold of the elevator and hang from the bottom.

Looking up Espio could see one section of the under-carriage of the elevator. With precise timing Espio jumped up and grabbed the support strut on the under carriage. The odd combination of jumping into an object coming at him made him lose his grasp on one hand and almost the second. Reaching back up in time Espio held on as the elevator slowly made its way down to the first he was just above the doors of the first floor he finally let go and fell to the bottom of the shaft. The impending sight of the elevator still coming down made him lay as flat on the ground as he could. When it finally came to a stop it left only enough space for him to crawl.

The only motivation keeping Espio going at this point was the thought that he was so close to his destination. Fighting through the aches and pains Espio crawled over to the vent. It was sealed with a rubber gasket like the ones above, but to Espio's dismay this one was much smaller. It was going to be difficult to move through given its tight confinements. Reaching behind him Espio dislodged the razor blade from his shoe and began cutting through the gasket. With it finally cut he put the blade back into the sole of his shoe and entered the narrow vent. The passage was so tight that he had to keep his head downs and sideways to have enough room to move.

_"Now I know what it feels like to be a T.V. dinner..."_ Espio thought to himself as he squeezed through the tight space.

After a short distance the duct made a perpendicular turn which Espio just barely squeezed around. Inching along in the narrow space Espio was growing miserable. He started to wonder if his plan all along was flawed and that if it was worth all of the trouble and risk he'd gone through. For a brief moment, he even thought that given the current scenario he might ave been able to skip town and escape.

Finally the air duct opened into a wider section like it had before. Espio lay flat in the vent as a deep sense of guilt pulsed in his conscience. _"Of course this is all worth it. This is my job... my mission... my duty... My obligation... So many are relying on me now and I will not fail them... even if it costs me everything."_

Espio pushed on knowing what he had to do. Eventually he passed over a grate through which he caught a glimpse of a checkpoint to entry the high-security areas of the facility. This meant he was getting close to the cells. It occurred to him that he was going to need some sort of plan to create a diversion once he'd figured out where Avarice and potentially his team was located in the cell block. The only thing that came to his mind was to cut the power, which he could do with the razor blade he had. Moreover, at one time Espio had been consulted by the S.S.P.D. to point out potential faults with the building's security and to point out potential flaws. One thing he noticed was how easily the building's power system could be tampered with and how it was located so close to the cell blocks. In a worst case scenario, Espio had warned the S.S.P.D. that this could be a serious problem in case of a breakout. He also knew that despite his warning nothing had ever been done about it.

_"Lucky me."_

For this plan to work Espio had no choice but to leave the security of the air ducts. Working his way through the ducts he was going to have to pass by cells first. Following the floor he made his way until he was just outside the holding cells. Just below him there was an electronic buzz and loud slam. Somebody had just buzzed in and the massive steel door sealing the cell block unlocked and opened. Scooting over to a nearby vent overlooking the main hall he could see the officers moving down the cell block to the far end and disappear down a hall. He knew that down that hall were short-term holding cells used to hold prisoners just before being transferred. Although there were many inmates in the cells right now, something in Espio's subconscious said he needed to know who this prisoner was.

Taking the air shaft running the length of the cell block Espio got himself just outside the outer door leading to the prisoner transfer area. There were two officers waiting by a police van engaged in a conversation. In his current position it would be impossible to do anything when the other officers came out. Traveling a bit further down the shaft had a tangent that lead to a large fan system meant to blow air into the garage. Following that path Espio made it to the fan. It was currently off, giving Espio time to crawl through its blades and, although with some difficulty, thread his body through the narrow protective bars covering the fan blades.

Since the fan was on the other side of the garage behind several police vans Espio knew he hadn't been seen by the nearby officers nor the security cameras. Quickly going back into his invisible form Espio crept over to the unsuspecting officers. He got within just a few feet of them and hid behind a support beam while eavesdropping on their conversation.

"So do you think this one is going to be a handful?"

"Guaranteed."

"Figures."

"Well you heard what they told us already. This one's been a bitch since they caught her."

_"Her?" _Espio thought.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Just not what I felt like dealing with this late in the day."

"Guess you could say a black cat crossed our path, eh?"

"Yup."

Espio could not believe his luck. Somehow he'd made in in time to try to save Avarice, but his whole plan had just gone out the door. There was no way he was going to have time to cut the power now. It also meant that there would be at least four officers present when they brought Avarice out. Even with the element of surprise, Espio knew this only had a slim chance of working, but if there was even the slightest chance of success, he was going to pursue it.

With a loud creak the heavy outer cell-block door opened and a pair of officers lead Avarice out. Surprisingly to all of them, Espio included, she was being cooperative. Looking from above Espio could she she was down-right miserable looking. Not the type of miserable in which one is angry, but rather the misery of being utterly hopeless.

"Well well well, the infamous Avarice. Didn't get away this time, did you?... What's the matter? Cat got you're tongue?"

The quartet cackled at their taunting and threw a few more insults but did not get a reaction. For the first time since he'd met her, Avarice said nothing. She only hung her head in silence. A part of Espio started to empathize with her. He was sure his teammates felt the same way earlier in the day.

_"Nobody should feel that way... Even if she is a career criminal, there's something about her that I-"_

Just as the officers opened to doors to the police wagon Avarice reacted. She tried to kick away the officers and run for it. She was almost immediately captured by the others. Espio couldn't make out what any one being was saying in the melee, but it was a mixture of the police ordering her to stop while Avarice screamed as she tried to fight free. She cried out as she was forcefully tackled to the ground by three of the officers. The fourth radioed for backup as he upholstered a weapon from his hip and approached the quarreling mass. Espio immediately identified it as the same type of taser that had been used against him earlier.

The other officers backed off slightly to give the fourth a clear shot. "This is your last warning! Stop resisting or I will tase you!"

"YOU WILL **NOT!**"

Nobody had expected to hear the bellowing statement, but the officer with the taser was especially unprepared for what happened next. Shedding his invisibility cloak in midair Espio performed a flying kick to the back of the officer. The sudden hit sent him stumbling forward and into two of the other officers. The taser fell to the ground the the remaining officer tried to grab it, but with one well-aimed stomb Espio's cracked the polymer weapon in half as he simultaneously grabbed and threw the officer against the side of the police van. In the following melee the other officers tried to take on Espio, but each found themselves easily fought off.

In the middle of the fight Avarice looked back in bewilderment. There was Espio, a detective, technically the enemy, fighting off the officers. It occurred to her then that he'd somehow found out what happened and did something she never thought he'd do.

_"He actually came to save me... I don't believe it..." _she thought.

Just as Espio had more or less fended off the four officers the door to the cells clunked open. A fifth officer holding the leash of a feral attack dog had appeared.

"OH SHIT!" Avarice screamed.

Espio spun around to see the dogs closing fast. His concern turned back to Avarice. As fast as he could he hurried to the feline's side. Upon seeing the site in front of him he wasted no time in releasing the dogs. Espio pulled Avarice to her feet and threw her into the police van, their only true protection from the vicious animal. He'd only just gotten Avarice safely inside when he realized he wouldn't have time to get inside himself. Slamming the door shut Espio turned just as the dog sprang threw the air right at him.

There was not enough time to get out of the way. Espio barely got his hands up at the animal collided with Espio and tried to sink its teeth into him. For the next few seconds he tried to fend off the canine, but his lack of strength from all his previous exertions was making this difficult. Feeling the breath of the enraged creature Espio did everything in his power to survive, but he was losing the battle. With his arms and grip about to give out Espio winced at the inevitable agony he was about to face.

"CALL OFF THE DOG! CALL IT OFF NOW!"

Over the snarling of the German Shepard the dog's handler shouted a command repeated and the canine backed down, albeit reluctantly. It continued to stand by with a fierce gaze, teeth barred and snout wrinkled. As Espio tried to get up the dog began barking again.

"Will somebody get that damn dog away from him!" an officer shouted.

"Don't even think about it! The son-of-a-bitch just jumped all of us!" said the officer that Espio had drop-kicked.

"What? That's impossible!"

"It's pretty damn possible! It just happened!"

"You're wrong! He would never do that!"

"And why not?"

"Because that's detective Espio!"

"Yeah, right!"

"It is!"

"Ya know, I think you're right!" said another officer.

"He's an imposter!" responded yet another.

"He's the real deal!"

"You're full of shit!"

"No, you're full of shit!"

Soon an argument was raging between every officer on scene and the dog was letting out a string of thunderous barks. Espio looked around in bewilderment as to just what was going on. It occurred to him that this might be a time to try to escape, but at long last the fatigue of everything that had happened to him rendered him to exhausted to move. Amidst the Espio sensed a shadow overcome him from behind.

**"SHUUUUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUUP!"**

There was an immediate silence by all in attendance, even the dog. "No wonder you assholes got the nickname pigs! Get enough of you together and you just start oinkin' away and rollin' around in shit, in this case the kind comin' out of your mouths!"

Avarice's grand entrance was far from well received. The dog went back into defensive mode and several officer drew their sidearms. A sudden adrenaline serge from the reaction got Espio to his feet and he put himself between Avarice and the potential onslaught.

"NO! You can't shoot her!"

"I knew it! He's a damn imposter! Espio would never defend a criminal!"

"Would you shut up already! That's Espio! I know it!"

"Fine! If it makes you happy, that's Espio! He's still under arrest for assaulting us!"

"I guess you can add that to all the other charges you've erroneously brought up on me this morning," Espio answered angrily.

"There, you see? He's admitting his own guilt!"

"Wait a second! What did he mean by this morning?" one of the officers said.

"He was probably involved in that damn car chase!"

Espio's temper was at its limits. "You're right. I was. Only problem is I was one of those trying to stop the whole thing like I have been for several days! I, along with Detective Vector, risked our lives repeatedly this morning trying to bring those responsible to a stop and failed numerous times due to your interventions! And how were our efforts repaid? You have my team falsely accused and arrested for taking part in the very case we've been trying to solve! Does anybody want to explain the justice behind that! Or what thought processes went into that decision?... Well?..."

All of the officers, both those for and against Espio's legitimacy, began to look confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Detective... nobody arrested you team this morning."

Suddenly the doubting cops looked reassured, though the same could not be said for Espio. "What are you talking about? I was there! A team of S.S.P.D. officers showed up at our headquarters stating we were under arrest. I barely escaped just as they broke down our front door."

"That's right, just keep digging yourself a deeper hole," one of the doubters said.

One of the supporters was increasingly confused. "Detective, that's impossible. No units went even remotely close to your H.Q. this morning. A good portion of our force was busy with the remnants of the case across town. Anybody that wasn't tending to that was told to stay on high alert. If something like what you're saying happened, we would have known."

"This is preposterous!" Espio exclaimed. "How could you not be aware of such a thing! This is the first place where anybody who is arrested is brought! If my team is here, then somebody knows!"

"That's just it, Detective. If a good portion of Team Chaotix had been brought in, everybody would know. But nobody knows because... they're not here."

A sense of helplessness was creeping into Espio's gut. "This is impossible... How can an entire team of detectives go missing and nobody knows anything about it..."

"See? He doesn't know shit! This is just the longest run of lies I've heard in my career!"

"Then there's really only one way to settle this... take me to the Chief," Espio stated, earning him mixed reaction from the supporters and non-supporters. "Think about it, if there's anybody who would recognize me it's him. My team has worked closely with him and I've had many one-on-one interactions with him. If I'm legit, he'll say so. If I'm a fake, then by all means feel free to arrest me."

The group of officers conversed with one another. Avarice took this moment to air her own opinions. "You're either really smart, or really dumb."

"I'm hoping smart."

"For both of our sakes, me too."

The conversations ceased and the doubtful officer who'd been speaking most stepped forward. "Although it's against my better judgement, we're gonna take you to the Chief. But I'm warning you right now, you make one wrong move and you're not walking away, got it?"

"I do," Espio answered.

"Good. You, come with us. The rest of you, get the bitch out of here."

"I can't let you do that," Easio stated.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"You're in no place to negotiate, buster! You're lucky we're doing this for you!"

"If my legitimacy is confirmed I will need to speak with her as she will be beneficial to my case."

The officer grumbled in acceptance. "Fine, but the same goes for her. Any trouble and she's outta here. You got that, missy?"

Avarice looked down to Espio. He gave a glance that told her to cooperate. She nodded. From there the officers encircled the town and lead them back to the cells. A few of them broke of and took Avarice back to the holding area. Espio was able to give her a reassuring glance just before they lost sight of each other. From there Espio was lead back through security and to an elevator. While passing through the checkpoint Espio could overhear some of the guard commenting on Espio's sudden appearance.

The ride up to the tenth floor was silent. Given the lateness of the day Espio could only hope that the Chief was around to identify him. When the doors opened on the tenth floor the group stepped out where they were immediately met by none other than the Chief of the S.S.P.D. as he waited for the elevator to leave and go home.

"Oh my God! Detective Espio, is that really you?"

Automatically the supporters gave the doubters a smug look. Even Espio smirked a bit. "Yes, Chief?"

"Where the hell have you been! I've been trying to get in contact with your team all day! Has anything happened?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you about. Was a warrant put out for the arrest of my team this morning, including myself?"

The chief was stunned. "What? NO! What could possibly make you think that."

"Because a team of officers arrived at our headquarters this morning to arrest all of us. I only just escaped."

"That's impossible! No such thing was ever ordered!"

"I know what happened. And since then I've been on the run trying to figure out what's going on."

"And have you?"

"I'm in the middle of it."

"Alright, let's go to my office then. If there's something this big going on I want to know."

"No. I don't have time for that. I've been sidetracked enough today. If I'm not under arrest then I am going to get back to my case."

Espio reentered the elevator and left the group behind. Many of the officers and others who worked on the floor got into conversation over Espio's sudden appearance and the information he'd just revealed. One officer, however, stepped aside into an empty office. He closed the door behind him and with his four-fingered hand dialed a number on a non-police-issued cell phone.

* * *

Robotnik sat in his throne room pondering. His patience was quite thin by now given that they'd captured everybody involved with the car theft operation, save for one individual. Ironically, the captures that should have been difficult, like Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, were relatively easy. Yet those who should have been easy, particularly Espio, caused the most trouble. It was crucial for Espio to be stopped, otherwise things would only continue to grow more difficult.

"SIR!" Snively shouted, bursting into the room. "I HAVE WONDERFUL-"

**"SILENCE!"**

The lackey froze dead in his tracks. "Snively... what I have told you before about bursting in on me?"

"But sir, I-"

_"What have I said, Snively?"_ Robotnik asked, growing angrier.

"I know sir, but I just heard that-"

**"WHY ARE YOU CONTINUING TO SPEAK!"** Robotnik roared.

"EEEEEEEEP! ESPIO HAS BEEN FOUND!" Snively shrieked in fear for his life.

Robotnik perked up, questioning if he'd heard right. "Did you just say what I think you did?"

Snively fought back his whimpering to say "Y-y-yes sir... One of our stand-in officers at the S.S.P.D. Headquarters has spotted Espio."

"My my my..."

"I suspect that he figured out that not every officer in the S.S.P.D. was after him so he felt safe returning there," Snively pointed out.

"You're probably right, but that works even better. With him there we have the upper hand!... This is _perfect_."

"Sir? Um... I was told that he went to continue his investigation."

"He has? Oh no! What ever shall we do? Oh woe is me, how could this be?" Robotnik mocked.

"Aren't you afraid that he may know something that could expose us?"

Robotnik sighed in frustration. "Kindly use your brain for just one second... Espio is a one-man army. If he's coming for us he's facing a well fortified fortress and he's way outnumbered. Also, now that we know where he is he no longer has the element of surprise. Finally, I know Espio all too well. He's not going to unleash the S.S.P.D. on us. He'll come alone. He is a ninja, after all. That's how he works. And besides, with out contacts in the S.S.P.D. we could interrupt any chance to dispatch the police to our location anyway. So I ask you, dear nephew... What advantage does Espio have in his favor?"

"Well, when you put it like that... none sir."

"Exactly."

"Right, well then... Shall I give the order for his execution?"

Robotnik took a minute to think this over. "Hmm... that is a good question... What to do..."

"You know, sir, the contact we had in the S-Team High Speed Interceptor Unit is still being held at the Headquarters as well. Perhaps we could take care of two things at once?"

Robotnik grinned. "Actually... that's not a half-bad idea. I do want that failed contact brought back alive so I may... teach him a lesson. Since we'd have to break in to get him we might be able to get Espio at the same time."

"There's always the option of taking out the building's power. We know that's the location's weakness. Not to mention we have connections with the S.S.P.D. Bomb Squad that could provide us the distraction we need."

"That's exactly what I was thinking. If we can get Espio and our contact together in the same area, cut the power and have one hell of a break in, then this may yet work."

"Indeed, sir... Shall I relay this plan to our contacts and put things in motion?"

"Please do, Snively."

Robotnik rubbed his hands together eagerly as a pleasing thought ran through his brain. _"Espio... You're finished."_

* * *

Avarice sat alone in a silent interrogation room. All she knew was she went from the holding area to there with no explanation. Given the sudden turn of events that had just transpired anything was possible. Just outside the door she could hear voices, one of which had a familiar tone. The lock to the door clicked and it opened.

"Looks you're smart after all," Avarice complimented as Espio entered.

"Apparently so," Espio answered as he took a seat.

"I know what you're here for but before I get into it I just want to say... I'm really surprised you came back for me. I mean, given that you thought you were under arrest, which obviously you're not, I didn't think you'd come within miles of this place... I really thought that you'd let justice take over. I mean... I am a criminal, after all..."

"That doesn't change that you're the only help I've had all this way. And the fact that you risked this much to help me speaks volumes."

"I could say the same about you... But I guess even after all that you're not going to be able to get me out of here... are you?"

Espio only bowed his head slightly and remained silent as his answer. "I kind figured that would be the answer," Avarice answered in a sad tone. "But I guess if that's how it has to be to help you... it's worth it."

Espio nodded in appreciation. "That's a very honorable thing to do."

"Yeah..." Avarice trailed off, realizing it was time to spill what she knew. "I gotta admit I didn't learn as much as I thought I could, but I still know enough. I know who the big cheese is."

"Who?"

Avarice took a deep breath. "It's Robotnik."

Espio's expression went blank. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

It took a moment for this to sink into Espio's brain. "I don't want to believe it... How do you know?"

"Like I said, the hardware that we got, the gun and the bomb, don't just come from anywhere. That's some big stuff and it comes from big customers. Big things like that don't go unnoticed. I stated showing it around and it was just going from one person to the next based on the leads I had. Finally I found someone who was an expert in illegal arms and weapons deals. I showed it to him and he knew who they came from."

"And he just told you that?"

"Well.. not exactly. I kinda... seduced him... at least enough to get him talking. Once I had what I needed I was going to get out of there but of all the places I could have been at that time I was at the one place the S.S.P.D. decided to hit."

"Are you sure it wasn't Robotnik trying to cover his tracks?"

"No way. This was a normal bust. I can tell. Trust me. Everything was way too orchestrated. And based on what I got out of the guy anybody Robotnik doesn't want alive dies. Simple as that. So if I was really supposed to be killed we wouldn't be talking right now."

Espio agreed with the conclusion. "So how did you end up in custody?"

"I could have escaped but the bastard knocked me out thinking I was the one who turned him in. Turns out he got himself killed when he tried to fight back. And since I was out cold I had no chance. Next thing I knew I woke up in the back of a police van and I was at this hell hole."

"I see... I just can't believe it's Robotnik. How could somebody like him keep such a low profile?"

"I can't say for sure. Right as I was about to get that information was when the S.S.P.D. showed up. But from what I can gather Robotnik isn't friend with just criminals, but he's got his hands in the powers running this whole city."

If it was possible for Espio to be more shocked than learning Robotnik was alive, this was that time. "Are you saying that he's in on the city government?"

"Like I said, I can't say to what degree, but from what tid bits I got it sounds like he's in on the the city government, the federal government, G.U.N., even the damn S.S.P.D."

That was strike three for the surprises. "The S.S.P.D.? You can't be serious."

"Why would I make that up?"

There was an uncomfortable silence at the realization the the S.S.P.D. was corrupt. "That probably explains what happened to my team, and since they're not here... it can only mean that Robotnik had them captured... My God, they could be anywhere."

"Maybe not. I think I may know where they are."

Espio snapped to attention. "Where?"

"I don't have an exact location, but I got a hint that it was somewhere in the docks."

Espio snorted in frustration. "That's the closest estimate I've been able to come up with as well. Are you sure that's the closest guess you have?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Damn!" Espio swore, pounding the metal table they were sitting at. "There's only so many places Robotnik could be hiding in this city!"

"Well, let's think about this. We know that there's something down in the docks. What's down there that could be of value to Robotnik?" Avarice asked.

"What isn't there that could be of use to him. To start with, the docks he could have access to anything and everything that comes into and out of this city."

"There's also a lot of trucking companies down there. That'll give him access to logistics to move anything or bring things in as well."

"And there's warehouses for just about everything down there. It would take weeks to find out what each one is used for, let alone search them."

"I know there's a few industries down there, like a few manufacturing plants and things like that."

"Yes, there are things like that down there but that hardly seems like the place Robotnik would want to hide."

"Unless he was using a business as a front," Avarice pointed out. "It's just a matter of what he would want to get involved with."

Espio pondered this thought. "There are a few operations down there that I wouldn't put past Robotnik, such as chemical plants and machinery manufacturers. But those are well-regarded businesses with proven track records. Other than those the only things I know of are a few textile shops, a small plastics plant and..."

"What?" Avarice asked, noticing Espio's sudden change of expression.

"The refinery..."

"Refinery?"

"There's a metal refinery in the docks. Scrap metal is trucked and shipped into it all the time."

"What's that got to do with Robotnik?"

"Back during the war with Robotnik he had several metal refineries to produce his S.W.A.T. Bots. Knowing Robotnik he'd want to hide somewhere he felt comfortable in and could use to his advantage. Given that he's been in refineries before, and would have all the resources we've just mentioned..."

Avarice smiled. "I think you got it, Espio."

"I think so too."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go get his fat ass and bring him down."

"The problem is... I can no longer trust the S.S.P.D... I'm going to have to do this alone."

"Heh, in the short time I've spent with you that's probably for the better. You can handle yourself pretty well."

"I also need to figure out how I'm going to get down there."

"Just run by the temporary impound lot in the holding bay. I overhead that a motorcycle was brought in. My guess is that it's yours."

"Perfect. Well... Avarice... I can't thank you enough for your help. I would never have made it this far without you."

"Eh... it's what I do. Just... do me a favor," Avarice added, her tone turning slightly sad.

"What?"

Avarice took Espio's hand in her own. "When this is all over... don't forget about me."

The simple grasp turned into a handshake. Espio stood to leave but turned to look back once more. "Until we meet again..."

"Yeah... Good luck, Espio."

Espio ginned and nodded. Leaving the room he instructed to the guard that he was finished, meaning Avarice would be taken back to the cells. He was instructed she would remain there for s short while before somebody could come get her.

With his new lead Espio knew full well what he had to do. It was time to take Robotnik down and he wasn't going to waste any time in doing so. He headed straight back to the basement and to the check-in point where any items that are being detained at the station went through. With a quick explanation he learned it was his motorcycle that was brought in and he would get the keys back. While a bit of paperwork was being done Espio couldn't help but notice that a familiar backpack had just been brought out of storage and going to another room where it would be inspected. He identified it as Avarice's backpack.

Since it was going to take a few minutes Espio decided to go to the cells. On the surface he was curious to see if Avarice had been brought back to a cell, yet somehow he felt like there was something more he needed to be sure of. He needed to be sure in his mind that she was safe.

_"Even if she is who she is, she's my partner... and a friend,"_ he reassured himself.

Arriving at the cell block Espio requested access. Just before entering he noticed a technician working around one of the building's power substations. He wasn't surprised given the age and known track record of the system. With a loud clang the heavy door to the cells unlocked and Espio was allowed to enter.

He failed to notice the so-called technician looking over his should looking at him as he entered. He also missed the "technician" reach into a pocket and double-tap the transmit button on a portable radio.

Walking into the cell area Espio asked the guard on duty if Avarice had been brought back yet. He was surprised to hear that she hadn't, but that she would most likely be brought back in just a minute or two as somebody had been sent for her. Just as he went to head back something in a sixth-sense sort of way Espio didn't seem right. He walked to the main hallway of the cell block, looking around for anything suspicious.

* * *

In a long hidden passageway leading to the cell block a well-buffed officer was guiding Avarice back to her cell. She wouldn't stand a chance of fighting him off so she grudgingly cooperated.

Oddly enough, she too felt like something was wrong. Having spent enough time in her style of life she'd developed a sense for when something was about to happen. Right about now that felt stronger than ever.

* * *

The world seemed to be at a standstill for Espio, like everything was watching him. Yet as he looked around could find no immediate source of danger. It occurred to him it was probably just his nerves from the day's events and the burden that now rested on his shoulders.

Taking a breath Espio decided it was nothing and wanted to go get his keys to his motorcycle. He'd only taken a step when he suddenly realized he could see nothing and the droning sound of power ceased.

_"What the?"_

Although he could see nothing, behind him he could hear voices just outside the second heavy door to the underground lot. He had just enough time to witness a blinding bright light and a deafening concussion. For a split second he could feel himself forced through the air before he slammed into a nearby wall. He was unconscious before hitting the floor.

* * *

The blast shook the entire building to its foundation, catching everybody off guard in the sudden wave of darkness. This included Avarice and her escort. They were both jolted from the shock wave and lost their balance. The transfer tunnel also didn't fare too well. A ceiling tile fell and hit the officer on his back and neck, knocking him out.

At that moment the emergency lighting system turned on. Avarice could faintly see in the tunnel, but she caught the glint of the keys to the handcuffs she was currently in on the officer's belt behind her back she scrambled to grab the keys and get free. As she fumbled to get the key into the cuffs gunfire rand out ahead at the end of the tunnel.

"Shit! What the hell is going on?"

Finally free, Avarice decided the safest place to be was out of sight. With a gaping hole up above as her best option she used her claws to scale the wall and up into the ceiling. She followed along the tunnel until she knew she was over the cell block. It was there she could overhear what was happening as somebody on scene spoke into their radio.

"EMERGENCY! Break in at the cell block! Shots fired! We've got multiple officers and inmates down! An inmate has been freed and a detective taken hostage! I repeat, an inmate has been freed and Detective Espio has been taken hostage!"

Avarice could hardly believe what she was hearing, but at the same time she had a feeling she knew who was responsible. _"Son-of-a-bitch! This has to be that bastard Robotnik! He must have had more people inside the S.S.P.D. than either of us thought! And now they've got Espio..."_

It became apparent to Avarice what she had to do. Espio had come to save her. It was time to return the favor. Realizing she'd need some equipment to do so Avarice crawled through the ceiling down the hall to the evidence room. With the sudden break-in the room had been evacuated. By complete luck her backpack had still not yet been processed and was now sitting out in the open of the room.

With nobody else around Avarice slid open one of the removable ceiling tiles and dropped into the room, retrieved her bag. Looking through it quickly she found her gun, the captured full-auto Glock, all the spare ammo, the other odds and ends she kept inside and, most shockingly, the bomb from Rouge's.

Just as she was about to dart back to the safety of the ceiling she noticed a set of keys that had fallen to the floor. She recognized them as the ones to Espio's motorcycle. She grabbed those as well and retreated back to the ceiling.

Her objective now was the temporary impound lot on the surface. Just as Espio had done she utilized an air vent to escape the prison. Following the vent she eventually made it to a small guard shack that was just adjacent to the impound lot. At this hour it had long since closed so she could safely exit the vent into the shack. Unlocking the door she sneaked out and over to the temporary impound.

Although the area was swarming with police activity, almost all of it was on the other side of the building. Keeping vigilant she was able to pick the lock on the gate with one of the various paciks she carried in her bag, and gain access to the lot. She proceeded to Espio's motorcycle and wheeled it out of the impound and into a nearby alleyway.

Avarice couldn't believe her luck in getting this far without being seen. She reached down to start the motorcycle when she heard somebody come up behind her.

"FREEZE!"

Looking in the mirror Avarice cursed her sudden luck change. It was a rookie S.S.P.D. officer.

"Get off the bike and get your hands up slowly!"

Looking in the mirror Avarice could tell the rookie was terrified, probably due to a combination of being new to the job, the attack on the building and thinking she was the escaped convict that had been broadcasted on the radio. A sense of confidence filled her gut when she could see the officer's gun shaking in his hands.

"I can take this guy," she thought as she stood up from the bike.

"Get over by the wall and put your hands behind your back!"

Following the order, the officer predictably came over to cuff her. As soon as he was close enough she ducked and sing-kicked the officer's legs out from underneath him. The rookie's gun went flying from his hands as he fell. Avarice caught the pistol, a Sig-Sauer P226, in mid air pointed it at the officer. He froze in his place, allowing Avarice to effortlessly take the two spare magazines for the pistol of the officer's belt.

The rookie went white-faced as he looked down the barrel of his own gun. "Oh God... Please don't!... Please don't kill me!"

Avarice kept her face blank as the officer bean to cry and quiver. "I-I just started today!... I got a wife with a kid on the way!... Please don't shoot me!"

"Shut up," Avarice said plainly. "Others will hear us."

In the not too recent past Avarice wouldn't have wasted a second to shoot somebody that was a threat to her, an officer included. But things had changed.

"You listen to me, and you listen good... I'm not the enemy here. Got it? I'm not the one you want. But I do know who's responsible for all of this and now I'm the only one who can do anything about it. That's why you need to let me go."

"Y... You know I can't let you do that!" he cried.

"Yes you can. And you know why? Because I'm going to make a trade with you. In exchange for letting me, I'm going to let you live. That's the deal, take it or leave it. You're choice."

On the verge of hyperventilating the officer nodded. Without another word Avarice walked back to the motorcycle and mounted it. Tucking away the new handgun she turned to say one more thing to the officer.

"Look... there's some really strange shit things going on right now. But like I said, I know what's going on and I think I put put a stop to it. But it ain't gonna be pretty, so my suggestion to you is you better get some reliable help together and fast."

"W-what's going to happen?" the rookie asked.

Avarice paused as she accepted the truth. "I have a feeling all fucking hell is gonna break loose."

With nothing more to say Avarice started the motorcycle and sped away. A slight feeling of relief flowed through her as she'd gotten away, but it was replaced by a new dread. Right now she could skip town and never be heard from again, but that wasn't an option. She had to do something to help Espio in taking down Robotnik, but of anybody who could take part she knew next to nothing,. She had no plan, no backup, little information and only the items in her backpack. Avarice headed for the docks where she knew Robotnik was hiding and where Espio was most likely being brought. It was also where she was going to die. The odds were not in her favor, but somehow she didn't care.

_"This may be the last thing I ever do... Fuck it. At least I'll die for a good cause... Hang on Espio, I'm coming."_


	36. Evasive Actions

**Author's Notes:**

And so it is once again time for the next new chapter of TFTA!

I can only state that due to the stress of my final college term, graduation, and job searching the production of this chapter was delayed as long as it was. Additionally, I got about 3/4 of the way through this chapter before I realized I didn't like the way it was going and how the rest of the story would turn out, thus it required me to start from scratch and reformulate the rest of the story.

As you'll note in the title this is in fact the first of a three-part segment which is the final action sequence of this story. My goal is to have 40 chapters by completion, so that means after this sequence there'll be a bit more to cover before it's done. This chapter is a bit on the short side due to the rewrite, the setup for the other segments and since it's been so long since an update.

As a warning: **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS TWO CHARACTER DEATHS, GUNSHOT WOUNDS, BLEEDING AND DISCUSSION OF TORTURE.**

Finally, as always, all opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 36** – Total Chaos - Part 1 - Evasive Actions

Robotnik had been waiting eagerly to learn the outcome of their operation at the S.S.P.D. Headquarters. Although he'd been in full support of the idea initially, after giving it some thought he realized that he was taking a huge risk. Everything up until then had been carefully calculated, planned, and rehearsed down to the last detail. This time was the complete opposite. It was a spur of the moment decision to order the attack.

"Dr. Robotnik!" Snively shouted, running into his throne room. "I have wonderful news!"

"Oh?" Robotnik asked.

"The operation was flawless! When I spoke with them they were about to get onto the highway to get here as fast as they could. Soon we will have Espio and our failed member on the S-Team!"

Robotnik thought for a moment, an amount of concern coming over his face. "No we won't."

"Sir?" Snively asked in surprise.

"I've been thinking a great deal about this, Snively. This was all very sudden. I don't like to do things that aren't originally part of the plan, and this _certainly_ is not."

"I don't understand."

"Perhaps being involved in this whole underground, black-market business world has made me too greedy. I now I said I wanted Espio alive, but we had all the chance in the world to kill him and have done with it. Right now we are leaving a trail of evidence that is leading right to us. I do not want to destroy everything we have done up until this point."

"But they've already, escaped, sir. Wouldn't it make sense to just-"

The look of death alone made Snively's throat squeeze shut. "Did you hear a word I just said, or should I tear your ears open a little wider so you can listen better?"

"EEP!... Yes, sir... Um... What are your orders?" Snively said as sweat beaded up on his brow.

Robotnik thought for a moment. "Execute them both. Nothing fancy, just kill them both. And try to have it done as out of sight as possible. I want no traces of this, do you understand? _No traces_."

Snivley swallowed as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yes, sir. I will send the message immediately."

Snively turned to leave the throne room. Robotnik was fairly certain he heard Snively grumble something under his breath, which wasn't out of the ordinary, but right now he didn't feel like addressing it. Weighing more heavily on the ex-world dictator's mind was the realization of how carelessly he'd acted. Up until now everything had either gone exactly as planned or close enough to it. This, however, was never something that was not meant to happen. He could only blame himself, for he'd truly been caught up in the moment.

* * *

"**GET OUT OF THE WAY!**"

Avarice blasted by a group of pedestrians that were crossing a street in front of her. Ordinarily she would have stopped to respond to the types of insults that were shouted at her as she sped by, but she had no time for that now. Given her location she'd gotten onto Route 101 and was taking every advantage of the lack of speed-limits. It had occurred to her that whoever had kidnapped Espio was most likely on this same route., but that the distance between them was probably significant.

Flying up the farthest lane to the left Avarice kept her eyes peeled for anything that looked suspicious. She was expecting to possibly see a police vehicle since she now knew the S.S.P.D. was corrupt. Speeding along she looked for such a thing, but for several minutes saw nothing of the sort. Just as she was starting to think that she might be too far behind to catch up one vehicle caught her eye. It wasn't police-related, rather it was a plain black van. One that looked very similar to the one she'd rescued Espio from earlier. Of course, there were countless black vans in the city, yet something about this one held her attention. Not wanting to look too suspicious or risk being seen she slowed down and drifted into some traffic.

Closing in on the van she did notice that it was the type that didn't have any windows on it except for the windshield and front doors. More suspiciously it had an after-market lock on the back, like the one she'd seen on the van Espio had been in earlier in the day. At her current distance there was no way the driver would expect anything of her and could more then likely safely follow the van to wherever it was going. Suddenly it shot across all four lanes of traffic and down an exit ramp. It turned so quickly there wasn't any time for Avarice to react and she ran right past the exit.

"What the? Dammit!"

Somehow in her gut Avarice knew that had to be what she was looking for and decided to pursue. It was going to take far too long to go to the next exit so Avarice cut across all four lanes herself and came to a screeching halt on the shoulder of the road. Gunning the gas she burned out and spun 180 degrees and went in the opposite direct. In no time at all she'd made it back to the exit ramp. Barely making the turn off the highway onto the ramp Avarice gunned it down the ramp. At the bottom she found herself facing an empty road in the poor part of town.

Only a couple blocks away was a large abandoned warehouse. Given her knowledge of the area there weren't many places to hide, so she had a feeling that's where the van might have gone. Not wanting to give herself away she pulled across the street and got off the bike. Running as fast as she could with her backpack she made it to the block where the warehouse was. Peering around the corner of the building she spotted the black van idling outside of it.

_"Damn I'm good,"_ she thought to herself.

One of the occupants of the van had just managed to bash an old, rusty lock off of a chain binding a large door on the side of the structure shut. That person walked in, followed shortly by the van. Avarice hurriedly crept along side the building to the entrance. Looking inside the van and person on foot were going to the far end. This gave her a chance to enter without detection.

Inside she found that the lower floor was void of any type of cover, but there was a series of metal walkways that ran about the structure. She hurried up a staircase along side of the wall closest to her. Once on the level of the walkways she found a small raised room, perhaps where a control room was once located. The van was just pulling aside and coming to a stop. Avarice hurried down the walkway as fast as possible without making too much noise. Just as the driver door of the van was opening she made it into the empty room.

"Alright, let's make this quick! I don't want to get caught in the middle of this!"

Avarice was surprised to hear a voice a lot like hers._"Damn, on a phone or a radio you'd never know the difference between me or her."_

Peeking through a shattered window the driver of the van was a tall female. Even from her current distance it was obvious the woman was an Overlander judging by her four-fingered hands. This was only apparent due to the fact that the woman had a MP5 sub-machinegun with an integral suppressor she was slinging over her shoulder.

"You think this is safe enough? I mean, it's not too far from the highway," the male Overlander asked.

"Every second you keep asking questions is another that makes it less safe. Now shut up and help me get these two out of here."

The pair opened the back and drug a pair of beings out of it. Avarice didn't recognize the Overlander they pulled out, but it was the member of the S-Team squad that had been arrested earlier in the day during the car chase after failing to follow orders to back off the pursuit.

"You bastards!" shouted the third Overlander in an orange prison gown. "One little screw up and you condemn me to death? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Not our problem. We just do what we're told and we do it right, unlike you," said the female.

"What the hell was I supposed to do? If I'd had just a few more seconds I could have stopped those damn hedgehogs in their tracks!"

"Well, guess what? You didn't. And when we're told you have to die, you die. That's all there is to it."

"Don't you pricks have a brain? I mean, seriously! Do you just do what you're told to without-"

With a surprising amount of strength the female punched the ex-inmate in the face to silence him. Meanwhile, the other male Overlander pulled another being from the van. There was no denying the purple chameleon that was bound together more tightly than the other captive.

"You've really been one big pain in the ass today to all of us, you know that?" the female Overlander stated.

Espio remained silent, prompting an onslaught of taunts and one or two physical attacks against him. At first it wasn't clear why Espio didn't do anything, but soon it became clear to Avarice that it was because he knew that there was no reason to fight back. If anything was going to save him, it was out of his control.

As Avarice sat and watched this she couldn't help but notice the similarity of what was happening to him and what had happened to her just a short while ago at the police station. Angered by what she saw Avarice made a decision right then and there that the two Overlanders were going to pay.

The pair slid the two captives over to a steel support beam and rested them against it. "Alright, you take care of this," the female ordered, holding out the MP5 to the other.

"What? Come on, I did it last time."

"What are you, are wimp? Just do it!"

"I'm tired of getting other people's blood all over me when I drag their dead bodies back to the van. You do it, for once!"

"We don't have the time to argue about this!"

"Then just do it yourself if it means that much to you."

Above the scene Avarice could barely believe what she was hearing. _"These pricks can't even resist fighting amongst themselves!... All the more reason for me to do this."_

With three handguns to choose form Avarice had to think fast. The full-auto Glock could rain down a lot of lead, but she could easy end up hitting Espio under the recoil. The freshly stolen P226 was a good choice, but she'd never fired one before and at her current distance she might miss. That left her own snub-nose revolver, but it was the weakest of the three and with such a short barrel it would be difficult to aim.

"Alright, fine! I'll do it! Just get the van ready to go!"

The sound of the sub-machinegun's charging handle being pulled back made Avarice snap to action. She drew her revolver from her backpack and took aim through the window. In that short moment the female Overlander had aimed her weapon at the pair. With no time to waste Avarice shot once at her. The round struck one of the woman's feet. Yelling in surprised pain the woman looked around frantically to see what was attacking her. She quickly spotted Avarice and raised the MP5. Avarice shot again, this time hitting her right in the chest. The woman cried out when she was hit, but she still managed to pull the trigger and spray the raised room with fully-auto suppressed fire before falling to the ground.

Looking at where the gun was being shot Espio spotted Avarice suddenly fall away from the window under the barrage of gunfire. His blood ran cold, wondering if she'd ducked or had gotten shot.

The other Overlander was so caught off guard that the entire shootout was over before he knew what had happened. He rushed to the side of his fallen partner, only to find her already lifeless. In anger he grabbed the MP5 and emptied the remaining rounds into the raised room.

"TAKE THAT, WHOEVER THE HELL YOU ARE!"

If she hadn't been hit before, Espio was sure Avarice was dead now. Caught in the moment,Espio's emotions got the better of him and he shouted "DAMN YOU, YOU OVERLANDER SCUM!"

Espio himself was surprised at his own reaction, but it wasn't appreciated by either of the remaining Overlanders, especially the one with the gun. Glaring at Espio the man pulled out another magazine and promptly reloaded the MP5.

"Nice going, dumbass," the fake S-Team member behind Espio said in realization at what was about to happen.

Their executioner pointed the gun at them and had just steadied his aim when a jolt of pain went through his lower back and his ears rang from two loud bangs. Yelping the man fell to the floor, the MP5 bouncing away from him. He tried to move for it, but his legs couldn't move. Only then did he realize he was paralyzed from being shot in the pelvis and spine.

"No offense, bot you're a horrible shot... unlike _me_."

Looking back up at the room Avarice had reappeared in the window, he hands pointing her revolver out a window. All he could do was watch as she thumbed back the hammer of her gun and pull the trigger. With one well placed shot a bullet was sent into his skull.

"Damn..." the remaining Overlander gasped in awe of the shot.

Espio barely acknowledged the shot having already seen earlier that Avarice was a skilled shooter. All he was concerned with was Avarice's condition since forty rounds of 9mm ammunition had been shot at her.

"Are you alright?"

Only then did Espio notice that the feline was leaning heavily on her arms on the windowsill with a distressed grimace on her face. She looked over to him with a weak grin. "Well, to put it lightly... it looks like I'm gonna be carried by six rather than judged by twelve..." she said weakly before falling backwards into the room, making no further sounds after disappearing from sight.

It took moment for the fact to sink into Espio's mind that the closest thing he had to a teammate had been wounded badly. A sense of desperation set in and he tried to sprint off to help her, only to collapse immediately since he was still bound to the other captive.

"OW! Dammit, chill out!"

"I have to help her!"

"Screw that bitch! Let's just get the hell out of here while we can!"

Espio had to restrain from kicking the non-caring being for such a comment, but in doing so Espio made a discovery. He still had the razor blade stuck in the sole of his shoe. Espio twisted himself every winch way to reach the blade, ignoring the complaints from his fellow captive. Finally reaching the blade he pulled it free and twisted his wrists about to start cutting through the thick synthetic cord that bound him. It was difficult, but with a little cutting Espio got his hands free and within moments shed the rest of the bindings.

"Awesome! Now cut me free, huh?"

The Overlander could only watch as Espio threw the blade to the far side of the building and run for the old control room. Espio ignored the pleas and insults to come back as he climbed a support beam adjacent to the room. Reaching the height of the room and threw himself off the beam and grabbed hold of a window frame and pulled himself through.

There weren't many things which could cause a shock to go through Espio like the one he was currently feeling, but one was seeing a teammate in mortal danger. Avarice was lying on her back grasping her gut, her green shirt and white paw fur stained red from the bullet wound. The grimace on her face only further displayed that she was in agony.

Taking a breath and forcing a grin, she weakly said "I'm starting to lose count... how many times... we've saved each other... but I don't think you will save me this time..."

Espio rushed to the feline's side, placing his hand on her own to keep the wound from bleeding. "Don't speak. Just stay calm and don't move."

"Espio... Stop worrying about me... you know what you gotta do... Leave me here and go get Robotnik..."

"I said stop talking! Save your strength!"

Avarice sighed in annoyance. "What are you waiting for?... Huh?... You can't save me... But you can save a lot more people..."

"You need to stop-"

Avarice cut him off. "No, _you_ need to stop!... You know there's nothing you can do... and even if you could, what's in it for me?... What's really left for me in this world?..."

Fighting through the quivers and tears of her suffering she locked eyes with Espio, who for the first time since she'd met him showed a sign of emotion in his face. "See?... Yo know it, and I know it...," she said as she started to cry. "I'm done for... in more than one way... It's up to you now... _Only_ you..."

Espio took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right, Avarice. I thank you deeply for all the help you have given me. It _is_ up to me now to make sure that Robotnik is stopped forever... but not before I say this."

"What?..."

All of a sudden the emotion in Espio's face changed to sheer determination. "You are someone who ought to survive."

Giving her no time to object, Espio placed his arms under the wounded feline and hoisted her up off the floor. Avarice winced from the pain of being moved, but there was no escaping Espio's grasp. They reached a door in the room that lead to a staircase down to the floor. Since it didn't have any sort of lock or handle Espio kicked it wide open.

Once onto the ground floor Avarice built up the strength to speak again. "Espio, what the hell are you doing! Stop wasting time and go get that son-of-a-bitch!"

"I will not leave you to die in this horrible place. I have failed too many times these past couple days. If you die I will have failed. I will _not_ fail again. You are going to live."

Reaching the van Espio gently laid Avarice onto the ground. Next to them the still bounded Overlander saw the extent of the cat's injuries.

"Pft! You think she's gonna live after getting shot like that? If I were you I'd leave her for the rats and save your own ass."

Avarice glared at the humanoid, but Espio motioned for her to not speak. "Save your strength. I'll deal with this one."

Espio turned his gaze to the Overlander, displaying only a single emotion. It wasn't anger, rage or disdain. It was a look of being bloodthirsty, and it was so powerful that the once-cocky humanoid instantly feared for his life.

"Woah, wait a second. You didn't take that seriously, did you? I mean, come on! These are, uh, troubled times, huh? It makes us do and say things without thinking, right?"

Espio's look was unfaltering, unlike the quivering voice of the Overlander. Walking towards him Espio could tell he'd terrified the living daylights out of his opponent, which is exactly what he wanted.

"I'll make it very clea,... Either you do exactly as I say, or you will die a death far more excruciating than anything Robotnik could dream up."

The Overlander was taken back more by the statement of his boss. "What the? how did you know about-"

"I am a detective. It's my job to find out about such things. It is for that reason I know his hiding place is in the metal refinery in the docks. And it is there that his reign of terror will end. But you, however..."

"What about me?"

"I am highly skilled in martial and ancient arts. This includes many disciplines of torture. I know more ways to inflict horrific pain. And above all the forms I know, the most unpleasant is... Chakra Torture."

"Wh... what the h-h-hell is that?"

"According to some philosophies, the body has energy centers that drive your being, such as you brain, your heart, or... your genitals. The idea is to inflict the maximum amount of pain in these areas while assuring you remain alive. And I assure you, with my knowledge and training... I do believe I could exceed fifty-two hours of keeping you alive, while assuring you experience pain unlike anything you can possibly fathom."

"Oh my... Y... You-re fucking crazy, man! You're _crazy!_"

Espio showed no mercy. "The choice is simple, do as I say or suffer the consequences."

It only took a split-second for the answer to come. "A-Alright! Alright! What do you want me to do? Anything to avoid... that!" the white-faced humanoid managed to say.

"Take her to the hospital. Use the van. Make sure she gets the treatment she needs to live."

"What? I can't do that! I'm in prison clothes and wanted by the S.S.P.D.! That's not gonna go well for me!"

"That is not my problem. And considering your alternatives, it's the best thing that could happen to you when you consider what Robotnik or I am capable of."

The Overlander swallowed in fear. "I hate to say it... but that's a damn good point."

"And let me be clear on one more thing. If you don't do this, I will track you down. You know full well I can find you since I found Robotnik. And when I do you know what will happen. Furthermore, if you leave here with her and then run, I will find you and you know what will happen. If you don't get her there in time, I will come after you and you know-"

"YES, I KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

"Then I want it straight. What is your answer?"

The answer, of course, was a resounding yes. Espio secured the MP5 and its ammo, then cut the bindings off of the humanoid who, predictably, didn't try to run or steal the gun. Instead he promptly took the keys from his fallen female comrade and got the van started. Espio returned to Avarice's side. Since she had remained calm she was still alive, but it was evident she was getting weaker.

There was one thing on the feline's mind. "Did you... really mean all that?"

Espio grinned. "Of _course_ not. But he believed me, didn't he?"

Avarice rolled her eyes. "You're starting to act like me."

Espio grinned as he helped Avarice stand up enough to pull herself into the rear side door of the van. To make her more comfortable Espio took off her backpack. He was a bit surprised by its weight, but that didn't concern him right now.

"_Team 86, what is your status?_"

The attention of all three occupants snapped to the radio lying on the dashboard of the van. Even from such a short audio clip Espio knew who it was.

"Snively Kintobor..."

"_Team 86, do you read me? What is your status?_"

"What the hell do we do? Your friend there killed anybody they'd expect to hear," the Overlander pointed out.

"Give it to me..."

Both were a bit surprised by the request, but Espio motioned for the radio. Tossing the radio back Espio caught it and handed it to Avarice.

"_Team 86, do you copy!_"

"Yes, we read you."

"_What is the status?_"

Espio and the Overlander were amazed not only how similar Avarice's voice was to the female who'd previously been in command, but also that it was fooling Snively.

"We're all... done here..." Avarice since as she winced through a sudden surge of pain.

"_Are you alright?_"

"Yes... The two bastards put up... a bit more of a fight than we thought... but we got the job done. Just a little beat up."

"_Understood. Vacate the area and remain out of sight. We want no traces leading to us._"

"Roger that. Team 86 out."

Dropping the radio Avarice laid down hard on the floor of the van, groaning in rising misery from her injury. Looking up at Espio her eyes were a bit bloodshot and she was tearing from what she was feeling.

"I don't know... how much longer... I can last..."

Espio whipped around to the Overlander in the driver's seat. "Time to go. _Now_."

The tone of the order reminded the Overlander of what he'd been told, even though it was a complete lie on the chameleon's part. Putting the van in drive they departed the warehouse and got back to the main road.

"I parked your bike a few blocks away... Hopefully it's still there."

"If you mean the black one two blocks away on the sidewalk up there then yes."

"Go to it," Espio ordered.

It took only a few moments to get the the motorcycle. Upon reaching it Avarice reached for the backpack she'd been carrying all day and pushed it towards Espio.

"I think you should take this... It has a few of my tools in it... along with guns... and the bomb."

Espio was surprised to hear that the bag still had the bomb in it, but realizing he had no tools at his disposal at present it would be foolish to not take. He also put the MP5 and the radio in the bag as well. As he shouldered the bag he noticed the green and black snub-nose revolver in Avarice's belt line. To her surprise he reached for it.

"You won't be needing this anymore," he informed her as he put it in the bag with all the other supplies.

The feline nodded. "It's been a while since that's been the case..." she said in a relieved tone.

"You take her straight to the hospital. After that I could care less what you do. Remember what I said," Espio stated one last time.

The Overlander wasn't thrilled with being ordered around, but being none-the-wiser about the truth to Espio's threats he nodded he'd do so. Looking back to Avarice Espio stealthily winked.

"Avarice... I could not have gotten here without your help. I will make sure that Robotnik is stopped once and for all."

"Your welcome, Espio. If I don't see you again... for whatever reason... just know that... AHH!."

Another surge of pain went through the cat's gut. Espio consoled her until is ceased. "It's alright. You're going to be fine. Just be strong for a little bit more. You're going to be alright."

The soothing tones of the words calmed Avarice down. Through teary eyes she nodded. Even so, he could see was she looked more scared than he'd ever seen her, and he knew why.

Espio ordered for the driver to get going as he opened the side door and stepped out. Looking at the feline one more time he nodded to her reassuringly, then shut the door. Espio watched as the van sped away and down the street, turning onto the highway towards the center of town and out of sight.

With the exception of distant traffic, a few sirens that were probably responding to the bombed S.S.P.D. H.Q., and the sound of a small gust of wind, the block itself Espio was on fell quiet. A familiar feeling started to overcome him once again. It only took a moment to figure out what it was.

_"Alone... again..."_

Earlier that day he'd watched his team of fellow detectives be hauled away with what he now knew were phony cops. Now he watched the closest thing he had to a teammate taken away in the back of a van driven by an enemy while bleeding to death. It was almost impossible to think that twice in the same day a similar set of circumstances could have occurred twice.

Pulling the backpack onto his shoulders Espio mounted his Kawasaki motorcycle. He paused for a moment before starting it to ponder his current situation. With a whole day having passed anything could have happened to his team or anybody else he knew to be involved in the case. For all he knew it may already be too late to save anybody. For that he felt a deep sense of guilt. The only difference now was that he at least had a sense of direction. A goal to accomplish. A purpose.

Summoning the motorcycle to life Espio raced to the freeway and go onto an on-ramp headed away from the city. Speeding into the late-day twilight Espio noted an overhead sign indicating the exit for the docks.

* * *

Robotnik had been on pins and needles waiting to hear back on the results on the drastic measures that had been taken. So much was riding on the outcome of his decisions, and if he'd made the wrong choice all his work to get to where he had would be ruined.

Behind him the door to his throne room opened. Whipping around Robotnik automatically asked "Is there any word yet?"

Snively was surprised at the reaction of his usually level-headed boss, but decided now was not the time to be smart-mouthed. "Yes sir. I have heard from our team."

"Well?" he asked, an obvious note of nervousness in his voice.

"It's been a success, sir."

Robotnik sat forward in his throne chair. "A success? So that means that Espio is?..."

"It means that Espio, along with our failed S-Team imposter, are dead."

The words seemed to bring some but not complete comfort to Robotnik. "...Are you sure?"

"Positive, sir."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I spoke directly with out team leader for that unit."

"And you know for sure it was our leader?"

"Considering it's the only team we had with a female leader, I'm certain. I knew her voice immediately."

Sitting back in his chair. "So it is over, then?"

"Yes, sir. Any threat we faced is either in our custody, or dead."

Robotnik let out a long sigh of relief. "That is a welcome bit of information... and one that means we can finally carry out the last stages of our plan."

"Indeed, sir. It has been a long time coming, hasn't it?"

"Too long, my dear nephew. Too long. But no matter. The outcomes of our patience and strategy will have made it all worth while. We will finally claim the victory we've sought for so long."

"Speaking of which, sir... How would you like to proceed?"

A sinister grin crossed Robotnik's lips. He'd been thinking about this moment for some time and he knew full well what he was going to do.

"Well, it's quite obvious Snively. Within the hour every member of the Freedom Fighters that we have in our custody will be dead. And with what I have in mind, there will be no chance for any of them to be saved, recognized or even found ever again."

"I think I know what you have in mind, sir... and I love it."

"I thought you would. Now, here's the million dollar question... who do you think is gonna be first to go?"

Snively rolled his eyes about as he thought. "I would say the three hedgehog siblings seem like the top candidates."

Robotnik chuckled. "Not bad, Snively... but you're only got two out of three correct. Care to guess which?"

"One of them certainly has to be Sonic. The other I would guess is Manic given his close connection to everything that has happened... Having said that, the final must be Antoine... the _real_ Antoine."

Robotnik only grinned as a response.

"Very well, sir. I have a few matters to take care of, then I will see to it that those three are fetched."

"Very good. I think our look-alike might also want to attend as well. After all, without him we wouldn't be where we are now."

"Yes, sir. I will let him know."

Snively went off to set their plans in motion. Meanwhile, Robontik sat back in his throne chair and relished the fact that he was so close to the victory he'd been seeking form most of his life.

_"Finally, it's time to end all of this... and there is nothing left that can stop me, not now nor ever."_


	37. The Full Story

**Author's Notes:**

So... where to begin. It was July the last time I updated. Between now and then life hasn't been very good for me. Unemployment for most of last year, life drama, and the death of a very prominent family member and all the events that followed with that. Plus, I have a tough work schedule at this point in time. As you can imagine, all of these over the past few months have required much of my time, and what free time I had / do have I haven't had much of a creative spirit.

But as I have promised in the past, this story will have an end. I have not worked on this story for this long to let it fade away without a conclusion. So, I apologize so much for the wait, but at long last I've finished this chapter and present it to you.

This is a dialog-heavy chapter, so be ready for lengthy conversations. It mainly deals with Robotnik telling his side of the story. Also, there are instances where characters are talking from remote locations, which as is my style they are designated by italic text, so you will see a bit off that as well. Also, as in previous chapters a lot of Espio's thoughts are italics as well. I must admit I've gone through several variations of how to approach this chapter and had difficulty writing it. I hope everything makes sense and that it explains everything thoroughly without leaving open ends or any questions unanswered.

As a warning: **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS BRIEF SCENES OF CHARACTER SUFFERING AND TORTURE.**

Finally, as always, all opinions/suggestions/reviews are welcomed and encouraged.

* * *

**Chapter 37** - Total Chaos - Part 2 - The Full Story

On the rooftop of a warehouse not for from the refinery Espio sat perched on the edge of the strucutre. From his lookout point Espio had a full view of the entire complex in front of him. There was the main structure itself, a complex array of piping, vents, smokestacks, and steel-sided buildings. Nearby was a large scrap pile of all sorts of metal, along with numerous machines to process and sort the materials. There were also a few docks were either ships or barrages of scrap could dock to take on or unload materials. A set of train tracks ran through the middle of the complex, also most likely for taking and leaving scrap. Amongst all of this were various sorts of on-going activities, such as large trucks arriving and departing and vehicles moving materials or people about.

It became evident to Espio what he was up against as he looked upon the location. On the one hand, a location this big was bound to have numerous forms of security guarding it, anything from cameras to alarms to security clearances. Also, the little knowledge that Espio had of refineries such as this told him that there would be more people present since the costs of electricity was lower at night, so all activities occurred during that time. Then there was the fact that Espio had no knowledge of this particular structure at all, so he had no idea where anybody or anything was. Furthermore, Robotnik was in this facility somewhere, and he alone was a huge opponent. Finally, given the amount of illegal activities that were probably based from the location there was no knowing what types of weapons, tools or technology was available.

Looking in the backpack Espio looked at what he had available to him. There were the guns, the full-auto Glock, the stolen P226, the suppressed MP5 and Avarice's snub-nose, each with a few respective reloads on ammunition. There were a few general tools, like small screwdrivers and pliers, a few assorted small knives, small amounts of duct and electricians tape, a few strands of wiring, and various implements to pick locks. Lastly, and most obviously, there was the C4 bomb that had been deactivated in Rouge's club earlier in the day.

Even with what he had, Espio knew the situation. _"Alone... outnumbered... out-resourced... unfamiliar... and unplanned..." _

Despite the well trained being that he was, he was truly scared. It wasn't only the fact that he was about to enter the lion's den that was on his mind. It was also the burden of the fact that if he failed now, Robotnik would surely succeed in whatever his plans were. There was also no knowing if he was in time to save anybody, and very soon the answer to this concern would be known. No matter how he looked it it, the fate of his teammates, friends, the people of Station Square, the Kingdom of Acorn, all the other civilizations around the world and the freedom of Mobius itself all rested on his shoulders right now.

_"I guess now I know how it feels to be Sonic... To have everything depend on you and you alone... despite the fact that every odd is against you... **Except**... for me, there's one thing on my side... I'm **totally** unexpected."_

A smirk crossed Espio's face has he pulled the backpack onto his shoulders._ "Challenge accepted."_

Making his way down from the roof via a drain pipe Espio landed in the alleyway below next to his motorcycle. Checking to see if the streets were clear, Espio took a few deep breaths to slow his heart rate. Feeling as confident as he was going to, Espio darted through the shadows of the late twilight day towards the refinery.

With each passing block any residual fear melted away and was replaced by the adrenaline rush, the kind that comes as a warrior charging into battle. Espio no longer felt scared as this sensation filled his veins, just like it always had when he faced any opponent. It made him confident that in spite of everything that had happened so far he would be victorious.

Reaching the end of the block Espio was now directly across the street from the refinery. As sprawling as the location had looked from blocks away on the rooftop, the true size of it was evident. This fact didn't phase Espio in the slightest not only given his mindset, but the fact that in his experience, large areas meant there would be more ways to get in. He decided that before trying to get into the main structure he wanted to examine the compound from within.

Scanning the area quickly Espio spotted a damaged storm drain just ahead of him at the corner of the block. The pavement and bricks in front of it were chipped away, allowing easy access to the sewer system under the street. Given the complex's size it was a safe assumption that there would be drainage spots within its perimeters, and that those spots were more than likely not as well guarded as main gates or passageways.

After a quick check to see if he was in the clear, Espio quickly slid down into the drain. Once inside he pulled the backpack tight onto him to avoid dropping and loosing it in the darkness or waters. Starting down the pathway in front of him there was an overwhelming amount of humidity and heat in the narrow passageway, along with the presence or several species of vermin and a sickeningly powerful stench. None of these fazed Espio as he made his way through the sewer and came upon a four-way opening in the pipes. He'd entered and gone right, so the refinery would be on his left. As he expected there was a larger opening to his left, leading straight under the location.

Leaping the waterway beneath him Espio continued up the pathway of the refinery's drain passage. While still fairly cramped it was open enough that he could move faster and more easily. There was also slightly more light as the air vents and drains in this tunnel were slightly larger, giving him more of a view ahead of himself. Continuing on through the sewer he could start to hear sounds filtering down into the tunnel from above. This meant he was officially inside the compound and where he chose to surface was crucial. At first he only saw small drains or canals that, while he could fit up them, would slow him substantially. After a minute or two Espio got the sense that he'd traveled quite far and was starting to wonder if he should go any further when a loud rumble up ahead halted him in his place. It only lasted a few moments, but aside from the rumble he also heard a metallic rattle that sounded very close to him. Peering ahead he could make out a shape in the middle of the drain path.

_"What is that?... Wait... Could it be?..."_

Venturing forth a bit more Espio found what he thought he was going to. A thin steel ladder protruded from the floor, leading to a manhole cover above. The slam was that cover having been struck by something large and heavy, more than likely a large vehicle moving above. While this would allow a quick entry into the area, it would come at the cost of easily being spotted. In spite of the dangers, Espio climbed the ladder to its top. It took a lot of strength to lift the cover just enough to glance out. To his surprise he found the he was surrounded by piles of scrap metal. This meant he was in the middle of the scrap yard he'd seen from a far. Not far away a large excavator with a claw attachment was sifting various scrap amongst the piles. The rumble had obviously been the machine moving overhead.

Aside from the machine Espio noticed there wasn't a lot of activity in the area. _"This is it..."_ he thought.

Taking one more quick look around Espio shoved the cover up and pulled himself, backpack included, out of the sewer and set the cover back down as gently but quickly as possible. In need of cover Espio spotted a rusty, wheel-less van on top of a pile of other rusted, dilapidated vehicles. Climbing the stack quickly Espio hid inside the van. Although the pile of automobiles wasn't as tall as the roof he'd been on previously, Espio could get a pretty good look around the inside of the compound.

The scrap yard was a maze of paths around mounds of various materials, everything from vehicles to industrial equipment and random piles of various metals. There were numerous operations working amongst the yard, processing the metals for either further transport or melting in the refinery. There was one machine that was making a fair amount of noise off to the side. Espio determined this was a crushing and/or shredder for processing scrap. One other thing that caught his attention was the presence of crews with cutting torches. This gave Espio a sudden idea.

_"Those torches require some sort of gas to run them, and there's a lot of work to be done in a place like this... so there must be a source somewhere on site. I wonder if-"_

A loud rumble outside and behind the van made Espio duck. It was the large excavator he'd seen moments ago coming back up the pathway. As the colossal machine became perpendicular to the pile it seemed to slow down and quickly came to a stop. The mechanical arm, however, was still moving, and seemed to be coming towards the pile. There was a slight pause, building an unbearable amount of tension. With no warning there was a loud slam and the roof of the van caved in. Four giant metallic pincers pierced through the roof. Espio stayed flat on the floor as the teeth tightened and grabbed onto the roof and walls of the van. With a mechanical whirring sound the arms and claw lifted the van up off the pile.

_"Nice to know my luck is still about the same."_

The crane rolled its way along a path towards the large machine Espio had spotted. As he'd thought, the machine was indeed a giant shredder fed by a conveyor belt of various scrap metal. He had no doubt the van, or what remained of it, was destined for that conveyor belt. On the way, however, he noticed a large, white, oblong tank a small distance away from the shredder in a fenced off area.

_"If that's what I think it is, that's where I need to go."_

The crane arrived at the conveyor belt and started to slow. Espio expected to be dropped off near the end of the track, giving him ample time to escape. Continuing with the trend of the day, the crane instead set the van down at the bottom of the short ramp leading to the chute the fed the shredder. By now Espio could only roll his eyes and shrug off his luck. As the van started the incline he pulled himself up to the front of the van and onto the driver's seat. The belt was moving considerably faster than Espio thought for when he looked over his shoulder he was about to go over with the van. With one leap he exited through the window, somersaulted in air, and landed with a soft thud on the ground below, the backpack pulled tightly around him. Above him the deafening machine digested the van in mere seconds, emitting clouds of steam and flying bits of metal as it did.

Using the shadows and nearby piles of debris as cover he moved away from the belly of the machine. Looking around it was apparent than nobody was aware of Espio's presence, allowing him to proceed to the fenced area he'd seen. After crossing a few pathways, hurdling various scrap piles, and crawling threw a large, rusted pipe, Espio was just outside the fenced area. Right away he noted a large red sign on the side of the white tank.

**DANGER: PROPANE**

That wasn't the only tank there. There were also many tanks labeled "Acetylene" present, along with others that had caution warnings on them. It was apparent that this was the storage spot in the yard were any and all gases, whether for the cutting torches or otherwise, were all stored. To have so many hazardous materials in one location was ordinarily, per Espio's knowledge of the law, a serious safety violation. The situation was, of course, anything but ordinary and played to his advantage.

Running to a nearby scrap pile Espio hid under a large slab of of what used to be a railroad boxcar. Setting down his backpack he removed a few of the basic tools within it, then he retrieved the the C4 bomb. With the tools he had Espio pulled certain parts of the bomb apart. One thing he quickly found was the bomb had a small antenna, meaning it could be remote detonated. With a bit of work he got access to a mini computer unit. He hadn't seen this before but was sure it powered the entire device, including the timer and also received incoming transmissions for remote detonation. Reconnecting the wire to the battery source the unit's small screen and keypad turned on.

It took a moment to familiarize himself with the computer, but he quickly figured out what he needed to do and how do do it. First, even though he'd clipped the wire to the timer, he completely deactivated the feature. Then, with his knowledge of electronics Espio managed to cancel out the old remote-detonate information and reset the device to accept a new number. Reaching into the backpack Espio removed Avarice's phone to check the number. Entering the number on the keypad the screen read:

Detonation Source: 237-849-1386 - ACCEPT?

Espio entered the code into the computer so that now only Avarice's phone could set off the bomb. He then reset the detonation number and had to choose a new one. Considering what he had in mind the choice was cliche but obvious. With his choice entered Espio returned to the main screen and selected the option to arm the bomb. Espio reassembled the now armed device as much as necessary, then cleaned up the rest of his tools.

Leaving his gear behind for the moment Espio crept back to the tank area and hopped the fence when he felt it was safe to do so. Moving through the area Espio came up behind the huge propane tank. He found a small open area in the stand of the tank that the bomb fit perfectly into but where it was also hard to see. He quickly placed it there, then retreated back to the hiding place and his gear.

A grin crossed Espio's lips as he pulled on his backpack. _"Thanks for the idea, Shadow."_

Everything that Espio had just done came to him based on the events of the previous night. Given how much attention was drawn to the explosion that Shadow caused when he and Espio were fighting in the alleyway, this explosion would surely gain attention of the entire city. Although blowing up a propane tank, and all the chaos that would follow, was against all of his training, Espio wanted to have a backup plan so that Robotnik would be revealed and stopped one way or another.

With a back-up plan in place the next step was to find a way into the refinery. Given the nature of the structure there was bound to be many ways in, but as far as which ones would be safe or would lead him into an area he didn't want to go there was no way of knowing. To try to gain some understanding of where to try to get in, Espio climbed up through the maze of scrap metal he was hiding in. At the top of the pile he got a good look at the structure. It did appear that was was a head house of sorts, possibly where a control center or machinery entry point would be located. He decided this would be his best area to try to avoid breaking into an area that would be full of on-going refinery work.

Just as Espio was going to start down the pile he noticed a small yellow electric cart with a spinning yellow warning light on the top of it coming down one of the nearby paths in the scrap yard. Assuming it was nothing too important he descended the pile and back down the the underside of the boxcar door. He could hear the cart getting closer so he decided to wait a moment until it passed. Peering out he saw the cart approaching and then make a turn towards the metal shredder. As it turned he got a good look at the driver.

Every nerve tingled when he saw the familiar long-nosed face and nearly bald head of the driver. _"Snively..."_

It had been so long since Espio had last seen Snively, and even though he'd known that he was going to find Robotnik at this location, it was still a shock to once again see the right-hand man of the most diabolical person ever to live on Mobius. Despite his nerves, Espio knew that he must pursue not only find out what Snively was up to, but also if by following him he could find an easy way in.

Given the topography of the scrap yard it was relatively easy to follow Snively's vehicle while maintaining stealth. Once or twice Espio was able to pass by other oncoming vehicles or even workers with cutting torches. One such worker Espio took a moment to get a quick glimpse of and noticed something interesting.

_"Four fingers... The workers are Overlanders, and probably loyal to Robotnik."_

Across from the giant metal shredder Espio found the yellow cart stopped. Ducking behind what looked to be a badly damaged shipping container Espio watched intently as hearing anything around the colossal machine was going to be impossible. Snively proceeded to call attention to a worker around the shredder, who then motioned to another worker to come over. The second person appeared to be in charge of the machine's operations given how he was giving commands to others in and around the area on his way over. There was a conversation between the two with a few hang gestures, but nothing that was discernible nor important at first. Suddenly, the mood of both changed. They smiled at each other and seemed to have a feeling of joy, like they'd just achieved something great. With a nod, the foreman turned back to his machine and began to shout something. Around the area many workers seemed to be enthused, one or two of which even let out a cheer.

_"Something's going on... Please don't let me be too late."_

Snively returned to his electric cart, waving at his fellow species. He departed towards the refinery towards the head house area. To avoid the area around the shredder, Espio went around the pile of scrap he was hiding under and ran down a smaller path around it. This was the one and only chance there was going to be for getting inside without resistance.

Fortunately the path let out right behind Snively. Espio sincerely wished he could just ditch the backpack and turn invisible, but he knew that doing so would put him at a disadvantage and leave him without resources he may very well need. Doing the best he could to stay with Snively Espio darted from one scrap pile or piece of debris to another. As they got closer to the head house the amount of cover grew less and less until Espio found himself behind the last large piece of cover about a hundred and fifty feet from the structure.

From his hiding place Espio saw that Snively was approaching a metal folding door which automatically opened as he approached. The chance of making through this door was slim given the distance he had to cover. There was, however, a large window near the roof of the structure that was propped open. Briefly analyzing the area, there didn't seem to be a huge amount of security in the area, nor much of anything going on at all. There were, however, several lines of piping running through the area running into then nearby plant as well as metal bracing structures to support them.

Taking a deep breath, Espio sprinted from his hiding place, trying to utilize as much of the dwindling shadows for as long as he could. Coming up on the last small pile of debris Espio ran up its side and jumped, kicking off from a fence just next to it and catching hold of a metal lattice around a pipe directly next to it. Using his momentum he swung himself upward to a higher lattice. He just barely made it to the higher lattice and grabbed hold, pulling himself on top of the pipe and lying flat. Looking around he could see other workers about, but none of them seemed aware of his presence. Utilizing all the pipes and latticework Espio crawled his way over to the head house. Once he was close enough he grabbed onto a support beam running up the side of the structure and quickly climbed up to the window. It wasn't open as much as it appeared to be from afar, but just enough for him to poke his head in at first to take a look around.

The head house was relatively well lit down near the bottom, but not so much up high where the exposed support trusses stretched across the roof. Down below Snively had just parked his electric cart and was stepping out of it, heading towards a nearby staircase, facing away from him at the moment. Espio squeezed through the narrow opening and onto a nearby support truss, watching the needle-nosed lackey's every movement. Using the roof trusses he was able to cross to the other side of the head house and observe as Snively proceeded to a room not far from the stairs, knocking at the door to it.

_"That couldn't possibly be Robotnik's room. It's too unguarded. I wonder, though..."_

Moving along the trusses Espio got over top of the room. By the time he'd gotten there Snively had been inside for a few moments but it was impossible to see or hear what was going on. Before he could consider going down for a closer look the door opened again. Snively emerged first, laughing along with somebody who was following him. Espio's heart froze when he saw who the second person was.

"Zis should be quite zee show, yes?"

"Oh trust me, knowing how long Dr. Robotnik has been waiting for this day, I'm confident he's going to have as much fun as he can."

"Oui. Weeth 'ow much Robotneek 'ates Soneek and zee others, eet eez all zee more reeson to not 'old back."

"Oh, I'm sure Robotnik is going to have the time of his life."

"Wee'll know soon enough, yes?"

"Indeed."

The pair chuckled joyfully as they continued down the catwalk. Espio could not believe his eyes as the tan coyote with blonde hair and French accent conversed with the right hand man of the most vicious. He only knew of one person in the world of who it could be, but his mind wouldn't accept this reality.

_"It's impossible! Antoine could never switch to their side! Unless... could he have been altered by Robotnik somehow?... NO! That's not Antoine!"_

Given the conversation he'd overheard it seemed quite probable that they were going to go see Robotnik. Following them was the only option as it would give him the best chance to find out what was going and once and for all if Robotnik was indeed alive. Keeping to the trusses Espio followed the pair as far as he could in the head house. He was confronted by yet another air duct that would allow passage into the next building. Waiting until the area was clear, Espio discovered the vent was aged so it simply worked on a hinge and fortunately had not been locked down. Slipping into the duct Espio squeezed into the space, pulling the backpack with him. Not long after entering the duct he cam to a dead end with the option to go either right or left. Going to the right seemed to lead to darkness. however, to the left Espio could hear noises echoing down the duct, along with a slight breeze that carried an odd, metallic smell.

_"This must be the way to the refinery. Seems like a fitting place to Robotnik."_

Following the left duct Espio soon found himself at a vent leading straight into the refinery room. The sight and sounds of the massive operation inside were frightening. Everywhere there were copious amounts of steam and smoke, a hot metallic scent, and a constant deafening drone of all the machines in operation. Peering out from the grate Espio spied the pair proceeding down another walkway along the side of the building. Like the previous grate this one too was hinged and surprisingly, unlocked.

_"Either Robotnik is getting careless, or he's not a really good housekeeper... it's probably the latter,"_ Espio thought with a smirk.

Once again waiting for a moment when all seemed clear, Espio pushed the grate open and clung to the wall just outside of it. He hurried up to a tall support I-beam and got onto the side of it that helped hide him from most of the factory. Moving along its edge he was making up ground on Snively and the coyote below until they turned and headed more into the center of the structure. Espio halted for a moment, attempting to see where they were going. Straight away he could see there were headed in the direction of what looked to be the control room of the facility. Looking around Espio noticed that the control room was raised on support beams and had an elevator running up to it for those needing to get to it from the ground.

_"Another elevator shaft... But it's still the best way. Beats knocking on the front door of Robotnik's room."_

Espio crawled to a nearby support beam leading to the floor and climbed down. Once on the ground he had a lot of cover as he moved about the floor, hiding behind beam or under an overhang from a machine as he made it over to the control room. Not far from his destination Espio saw the pair above enter through an automatic door. Knowing he was short on time he hurried the rest of the way and got to the lift. It was more of a construction hoist, but it was the best way up to the structure. Climbing to the top of the guide rail for the lift Espio found a small ledge at the top of the area where he discovered another air duct leading into the structure.

_"If Robotnik is here, this is where he'll be. Now I will know what if going on and how I can stop it... and if I'm still in time to save my friends."_

It was a bit of relief to be inside the control room as it was quieter, climate controlled and sheltered from the horrors of the refinery. This, combined with the adrenaline in Espio's veins, made him hyper-aware of his surroundings. Even the slightest crinkle of the ducting seemed to rumble like thunder to him. It was long before his ears detected another sound through the ducts, one that made every fiber of his being pulse with fear. It was a loud, maniacal laugh, one that he knew all too well.

_"Robotnik..."_

Despite having never been in the structure, Espio's instincts guided him through the ducts to where he'd heard the noise. As he got closer he could also hear the voices of Snively and the coyote, though he still couldn't make out what they were saying. Moments later he round a corner and heard the first discernible words from up ahead.

"I must say, I can't recall the last time I saw you this elated, Dr. Robotnik."

"My dear nephew, you can not even being to comprehend how great I feel right now."

Another jolt went through Espio's gut _"His voice is still the same... as is my disgust for it."_

Moving a bit more slowly forward Espio rounded another corner and saw a grate ahead of him. Reaching it, he quietly placed the backpack beside himself and peered out, making sure to flash invisible before doing so. He discovered that he was at floor level of the room in front of him. Peering around out of the grate Espio had a great view of the entire room. It was styled much the way Robotnik's old throne room had always been designed. There were computer terminals and screens all around to control and monitor various functions throughout the facility. There was an open bay which Espio immediately recognized as the Roboticizer. At present Snivley and the mystery coyote were facing towards the back of a large mechanical chair.

"So, zee show... eet eez about to start, yes?"

"As long as Snively got everything in order, it should be."

"Indeed, sir. I made all the arrangements. Just say the word, and we can proceed."

The chair spun around, revealing Robotnik. Espio's muscles clenched at the sight. Even with all the indications that Robotnik had been behind everything going on and was alive, it still didn't prepare him to see the planet's greatest threat to humanity alive. The shock was so great that Espio almost lost his concentration on staying camouflaged.

"Let's begin," Robotnik uttered with a most disgusting and evil grin crossing his face.

"Very good, sir."

Snively walked over to a control panel and began typing at a computer. From his current perspective Espio couldn't tell what he was entering, but he was sure he'd know soon enough.

_"Unbelievable... That bastard has been in charge of this mess the whole time and nobody even knew he was here. At least... nobody knew that could have stopped him before it got to this point."_

"Eet eez one of zee best days of your life, yes?"

"Considering how much I've had to go through, and how much luck I've had to rely on, to actually be here now... knowing what I'm about to do... it is the _best_ day of my life."

_"Not if I have anything to do with that," Espio thought._

"By zee way... I 'ave been wondereeng..."

"Let me guess... your payment?"

"Oui."

Robotnik sat back in his chair and grinner. "You know Antoine.. or, I guess I should say... _Patch_, at this point... I've been thinking..."

_"Patch? I remember him now. That imposter fooled us once before back during the war. How could he have done it again."_

"Oh?"

"You see Patch, even with ultimate victory just minutes away, my work does not stop there. I still affairs to get in order, tasks to complete, and people to pay off. And while I have certainly surprised myself along the way at my skill as a business person, so to speak at least, it's still far from my specialty. Because of that some things have cost a bit more than expected, so... I only have half of the original ten million I promised you."

"So five meelleeon?... Conseedereeng all zat I 'ave 'ad to go through-"

"I will stop you right there. I'm well aware that it wasn't pleasant for you to go through everything to get us to this point, both the time you spent preparing for this mission and also having to actually keep up the act and be amongst the very Mobians that once brought you down as well. Though, I'm sure you probably had fun during the heist."

"Oui, but zat steell doesn't make up for geetteeng 'alf of what I s'ought I would. I 'ad many plans for zat money."

_"And I've got plans for you as well,"_ Espio thought angrily.

"Hmph... It's funny. Ordinarily I would have killed somebody for taking advantage of a deal I gave them, but considering what you've done for me, and as part of being a businessman, I do have a compromise."

"I'm leesteneeng."

"After talking with my contacts in G.U.N. they agreed to make sure you get safe passage to a non-extraditionary location where you'll be safe for the time being while I can complete my work. They mentioned a rather remote but luxurious tropical location. Not to mention they said you could pick out a vehicle or two from the supply those fools managed to bring to us. That, along with five million, is your for the taking. What do you say?"

Patch took a little less than a second to decide. "I theenk we 'ave a deel."

"You _think_, or we _do_?"

"We do. I accept zee offer."

"We're ready to go, sir," Snively announced.

"Ahhhh, perfect timing dear nephew. Hmph hmph hmph... This is going to be _soooooooo_ much fun."

Robotnik spun back around to face his control panel. Patch joined up with Snively along side of the throne as various T.V. screens on the walls began to power on. Unknown to any of them, Espio sat in silence, watching their every move, but also dreading whatever was going to happen next.

_"Only the most diabolical and disgusting of events could make him this happy. And this seems to be something he's wanted more than anything in life. I can imagine what some of those could be, but all of them I don't want to be the case..."_

One by one the television screens powered on. It took a moment for Espio to figure out what they were given the distance he was from them, but he thought they looked like holding cells of some sort. At first the view of from the screens was distant, but when Robotnik pushed a button on his throne the views zoomed in a bit.

Espio almost failed to stifle a gasp at what he saw. Across the near dozen screens Espio saw familiar face after familiar face, all of them lying about and seemingly dead. Espio swallowed deeply.

_"Please just let them be unconscious."_

Isn't it amazing..." Robotnik stated, scanning each screen. "Vector and Mighty... Charmy and Ray... Knuckles and Julie-Su... Blaze and Mina... Shadow and Silver.."

_"Shadow and Silver?... How did Robotnik ever manage to capture them?"_

"Amy and Sonia... Rotor and Antoine..."

_"Antonie? That must be the real one!"_

"Bunnie and Uncle Chuck.. Rouge and Princess Sally... Sonic and Manic... Tails and... well, just Tails. Hmph hmph hmph.."

_"Why did that make him chuckle? What did you do to him?"_

"How amazing it is to not only have so many of the most crucial Freedom Fighters all in one place at one time, but also completely under my control. It's as if all the planets and stars have aligned, and for me no less. It may have taken a long time, but now, after being defeated, humiliated and banished... I will have my revenge."

Robotnik reached for a button on the arm of his throne. "Wakey wakey," Robotnik he said with a chuckle.

On screen a silvery mist, the antidote to the sleeping gas the Mobians were under, was visible spraying throughout the room. The mist quickly dissipated and a few moments later each of the beings began to stir. A feeling of elation made Espio quiver slightly.

_"They're alive! All of them! I'm not to late to save them... But how? I don't even know where those cells are."_

Robotnik sat rubbing his hands in anticipation. Snively and Path also looked to be savoring the moment as well. Slowly the groups of Mobians came out of their forced slumbers and started to become aware of their surroundings.

_"Oh mah stahrs... Mah heahd hurts..."_

_"Like, what happened?..."_

_"W-w-w-here are w-w-w-w-we?_

_""What the hell is this place?"_

"Why, it's my dungeon, Detective Vector," Robotnik replied to the last question.

On screen each Mobian, except for Tails, turned their attention to the camera and screen that was in their cells. "Hello, everybody. Did you all enjoy your nap?"

_"Robotnik?"_ Vector said incredulously. _"**Robotnik?**"_

"Yes, that is my name."

_"No... it's not possible... Now I know what Sonic meant that he wasn't the enemy... **Sonic!** You bastard, what did you do to Sonic!"_

"Relax, detective. Sonic, along with everybody else that had anything to do with this whole operation is alive and with feet of your location."

_"Vector..."_ Mighty said groggily, getting to his feet.

_"Mighty! I didn't know you were there! Are you alright?"_

_"Yeah... I guess."_

_"M-m-m-m-m-m-ighy! C-c-can y-y-you hear m-m-me?"_

_"Yes! I can! Are you alright?"_

_"Yeah, me and Ray are cool!"_ Charmy squeaked from down the hall, though he was visible on screen. _"But I don't like this place one bit!"_

_"Well, it's 'Buttnik, what did ya expect?"_ Sonic aasked.

Robotnik allowed the group of them to converse for a short while, allowing each of them to realize who else was there and that everybody was alright. Espio grew increasingly relieved to hear the familiar voices and know that, at least for the time being, that his friends were alive.

_"That's just about everybody... But Tails..."_ Espio thought, looking at the screen of Tails still lying on the ground.

_"Wait a second... Where's Tails?"_ Rotor asked.

_"Tails? You Tails, can you hear us?"_ Sonic asked loudly.

Robotnik chuckled as he looked at the screen of Tails still lying unconscious. "Relax, hedgehog. Your two-tailed friend is alive. Now then, I want a few of you to have front row seats for the show. So.. let's see here... Hmmmmm... Yes, you... you... and... why not? You too."

Robotnik pushed three buttons on his throne control. On screen a hole opened in the roof or two of the cells. The same mechanical arms that separated shot into the cells that housed Sonic and Manic, as well as Rotor and Antoine. Both hedgehogs were snatched by their legs before they could react and were pulled through the hole in the roof. The arms also grabbed the still weak Antoine. Rotor tried to grab him, but the arms easily pushed the giant walrus back.

_"What the hell just happened!"_ Knuckles shouted in reaction to the strange noises in the cell block.

_"They... It... took them!"_ Rotor shouted.

_"What did?"_

_"These robotic arms! They came out of the ceiling!"_

All the Mobians simultaneously looked up at the ceiling to spy the entry point where the arms would come through. "Fear not. Nobody else is going for ride at this time."

_"Where did you take them!"_ Sally demanded.

On cue, Sonic, Manic, and Antoine were dropped into the waiting Roboticizer chamber. Robotnik shifted the camera away from himself and showed the Roboticzier and it occupants. The trio were in a mangled heap having landed hard both of the metal floor and on each other. Antoine had let out an audible moan of discomfort, causing both hedgehogs to have gotten off of him quickly.

"Yo, Ant! You alright?" Sonic asked.

"Dude... it looks like he got the hell kicked out of him even more than before!"

Earlier when they'd first seen Antoine he appeared to have been beat up enough. Now he was showing more bruising, swelling, and a few spots of blood-matted fur. Takinga deep breath Antoine finally opened his eyes and looked up at the hedgehogs.

"Soneek... Maneek... Je suis désolé..."

"What'd he say?" Manic asked.

"'E said 'e eez sorree."

Both hedgehogs looked up to see the identical coyote standing next to Snively and Robotnik. Nonchalantly the canine walked over to the Roboticizer and stooped down to be eye level with the others.

"Eez eet apparent who I am?"

"Well, you're one hell of a look-alike," Manic commented.

"And probably an asshole," Sonic joked.

"Hmph. Always weeth zee jokes. But take a good look. See eef you remember me."

The coyote pressed his face to the glass. Sonic squinted and looked for something that would look familar, but could find nothing. "No, I don't know you. Nor would I want to."

Patch looked over his shoulder and grinned at Robotnik. "Eet worked."

"Indeed it did... Patch."

Reality struck everybody, both in the control room and down in the cells. When Patch looked back at Sonic he pulled his fur aside and stretched his skin. Only then did Sonic spot the faint remains of a scar that had been surgically reduced from how prevalent it used to be. Patch then also shut his left eye. Looking closely and catching the light just right, it was evident that the right eye was a very convincing fake.

"I must say, hedgehog, that for somebody as keen as you it really never occurred that there was an imposter amongst your group."

Sonic went to answer, but a growl interrupted him. "You..." Antoine said in a low voice.

"Bonjour, Antoine. 'Ow are you feeleeng?"

With a sudden and surprise spurt of energy, Antoine jumped to his feet and started pounding furiously on the glass of the chamber and shouting various insults and swears in his native tongue. Patch chuckled as he walked back to the others as Antoine continued his tirade. Espio sat in silence, a feeling of great discomfort going through him at seeing the coyotes actions.

_"I've never seen him act like that. Whatever Robotnik did to him must have been awful."_

Soon after Antoine trailed off of his shouting and slid to his knees, whimpering as tears fell from his eyes. Sonic came to his side and the coyote latched onto him, sobbing into his shoulder. The others in the cells observed this as well. A few sniffled quietly at seeing their friend in such agony. Sonic motioned for Manic to come over and be by Antoine's side.

"It's alright, dude. Just take it easy," Manic said calmly as he sat next to Antoine.

"Just relax, okay buddy?"

Antoine only nodded slightly in response. Looking up from Antoine Sonic glared at Robotnik. "Alright, "Buttnik. Clearly there's a lot more going on here than what we all thought. So what gives?"

"I'm glad you asked that, Sonic. And I'd be more than happy to explain. You see, hedgehog, ever since you and the rest of the damned Freedom Fighters ruined my Doomsday Project six years ago I've been working towards regaining my power. Of course, considering I was banished and the rest of the world would probably kill me on the spot if I even thought about going near their part of the world, it's been anything but easy getting to this point. In fact, it's been downright a living hell."

_"You deserved it!"_ Charmy yelled over the television.

_"He deserved worse,"_ Vector added.

_"And I should have made sure of that,"_ Sally finished.

"Naturally, I don't think I deserved to die, but of course you're my enemies so that's naturally what you're going to think. And to be honest, that almost did happen to me. I pretty much was a wanderer for several years, trying to survive by any means necessary without any help from anybody or anything, knowing that running across just one wrong person, making one wrong move, or going into one wrong place would be the end of me. That was not a pleasant experience."

"Oh boo hoo hoo, "Buttnik! Now you know how pretty much much of the world felt when your fat ass was in power!" Sonic snapped.

"Oh, I do beg to differ hedgehog. I didn't always kill everybody I captured. Sure, some of them I did and some... well, _many_ I roboticized, but didn't always kill. But in my case it was me against all of Mobius. As much as I am a genius, I was truly at a loss as to what to do. Eventually I convinced myself that there was nothing I could do and that it was all over for me."

_"Never have I heard more comforting words from you... scum,"_ Uncle Chuck said.

"After spending years on the run I happened upon this city. I found that around here was where I could survive more easily given the available resources. So I set up camp here in Station Square and for a while things were alright. Then, as luck would have it, I had a run in with some G.U.N. agents. Naturally, they turned me in immediately hoping to claim some big bonus that was out on my head. But then, what I thought would be the end of me ended up being the turning point. As it turned out, there were several key members in G.U.N. who were, shall we say.. interested in looking out for my best interests?"

"They'd have gotten more out of looking after the best interests of a pet rock that you," Sonic cracked.

"Hardy-harr-harr, hedgehog. Anyway, though some careful manipulation, corruption and one or two executions to ensure secrecy, my life was spared. The idea was that, if I'd managed to take control of the world before by myself, then if I had a backing like G.U.N., it could be done again. So for a few years I've been protected by G.U.N. as we've planned out every last detail of creating a new world order. And now with all of you under my control, the greatest threat between us and our goal is all but destroyed. Soon I will regain my former glory as the emperor of this world and have one of the strongest and technologically advanced government forces behind me to-"

"Wait wait wait, woah woah woah! Stop the corn ball monolog for just a second! Where the hell does being a black market businessman and this stupid car theft operation play in?" Sonic interrupted.

"Oh yes, I sort of overlooked that in all my excitement. Thank you, hedgehog. Ha! I never thought I'd hear myself say that!"

_"This is unbelievable! But now I'll understand how we got dragged int this,"_ Espio thought to himself.

"You see, hedgehog, this time around I'm not playing it by my own rules. Not totally. I've had to do certain things to earn the respect, faith, and support of G.U.N. You see, just because I was once able to take over and run the world doesn't mean that my G.U.N. contacts we're going to automatically trust me and just give me a clear shot at taking over. After all, certain entities within G.U.N. would like to have a part in the new world order for themselves. Now granted, that means I wouldn't be in absolute control of the world, but in exchange for letting G.U.N. have certain powers and areas to control, I would gain their eternal loyalty and access to resources unlike any I have ever had before, like secret state-of the art technology, robotics, weapons of mass destruction, the list goes on and on. Those, combined with my own original creations, would give me a level of power and influence that I could only have dreamed of during my original attempt at world domination."

_"That still doesn't explain why the hell you went through all the trouble and put us through all this grief,"_ Sally pointed out.

"I'm getting there, dear Princess. As I said, it's been some years since I first connected with my contacts within G.U.N. You don't really think that we could just throw all of this together overnight and jump into power, do you? I think that was a majority of my problem last time. I came to power so fast and I was making things up as I went along. Now however, with years of planning and preparation in place, I along with all the connections that have been established, a takeover of this globe is all put a few simple commands away. In fact, I overheard one or two of you say throughout the night that you'd named this whole operation the Autokrieg, a play on the word Blitzkrieg? Originally meaning sudden, swift, unavoidable and indefensible all-out sudden attack? Well, it would be fair to say that a global Blitzkrieg is imminent, and it's all thanks to you."

_"You're not welcome,"_ Knuckles stated

"But as I stated before, I needed to truly earn the support of G.U.N. I could only negotiate, plan, and make promises with them for so long before they wanted proof that I could deliver on my promises and ideas. I knew that should I come to power again, the biggest threat I faced more than any army, any weapon, or any other power that exists in this universe... was all of you. You Freedom Fighters, a group of filthy animals that somehow managed to dethrone me and undo everything I had worked so hard to create. I knew I had to get rid of all of you if I was even going to have a sliver of a hope of taking over again. So G.U.N. assigned me with a simple task: Get rid of the Freedom Fighters, and the world is my oyster."

"I think you've eaten one too many oysters already," Sonic joked.

"_Getting back on topic_... With the world the way it was after my defeat I knew you were all going to be spread all over. Some of you made it easy for me by locating to this city on your own accord since it was a fast-growing area for new opportunities. The rest of you spread out across the globe with your own agendas. I knew it would be impossible to do anything with everybody so far apart. I needed everybody in one place at one time. So I carefully observed everybody's whereabouts and choose bide my time, looking for the perfect moment to strike."

_"Judging by that statement I'm going to feel confident in saying that you infiltrated the system I had set up to track the scum of this planet,"_ Sally stated.

"Isn't it obvious, Princess? I have connections with G.U.N.! One of the most powerful government organizations on the planet! In some ways, I think they are more powerful than anything the Acorn Empire ever was, is, or could be. But yes, my efforts did infiltrate your organization, along with many others both in this city and around the world. It not only made it easy to keep track of where all of you were, but also allow G.U.N. to take the steps it needed in order to ensure the ease of overthrowing the world powers. And it was through these efforts that the lucky break I needed came when Antoine and his father Armand came right to me. They were on a vacation around the globe when they encountered my dear but not-so-able-to-defend-himself nephew, Snively. Since G.U.N. was the nearest large government around they brought him here to turn him in. From there... well... hmph hmph hmph."

Antoine let out an irrepressible whimper and clenched his fists. "Père..." he said softly.

Although not fluent in the language, Sonic knew that the word mean father. "What did you do to him?," Sonic asked, his tone growing a bit darker.

"Naturally, we couldn't have the world knowing I was alive, so I saw to that. Oh, you should have seen the look on their faces, and Snively's too, when I revealed myself. It was priceless, as was the little cry of fear that Antoine couldn't resist. But those were nothing in comparison to what happened next. And rather than me tell you about it, just watch."

A new screen appeared in the control room to air the footage, which was also being displayed for all the prisoners. All in attendance watch a few minutes of footage in which Robotnik terrorized the father and son, first verbally, then physically. Antoine bore the worst of it due to Robotnik's hatred for him a a Freedom Fighter. In a last ditch effort, Armand tried his best to fight off Robotnik. In gruesome detail, they could all only watch as Robotnik gripped Armand by the throat and suffocated him right in front of Antoine's eyes. When the film cut out Antoine broke into a roaring cry in the Roboticizer. Manic and Sonic tried to console him as much as possible flashing Robotnik a death glare. Elsewhere on the various screens some of the Freedom Fighters were in tears while others could hardly comprehend what they'd just seen.

_"You heartless piece of scum! Did you really have to do that?"_ Uncle Chuck screamed.

"Did I have to? No. But did I? Yes. And that's all that really matters. Anyway, from then on I know I finally had what I needed to get things together and I began to put plans in motion. Luckily I had an ace up my sleeve, and that is where Patch comes in. Fortunately for me G.U.N. had been tracking the whereabouts of the world's most wanted as well, so I knew where he was. That meant that I could send Patch in as an imposter and nobody in the world would be the wiser. I immediately fetched Patch and began a rigorous training regime to make sure he was as much like Antoine as he could possibly be. Sure, Patch had stood in for Antoine in the past, but I wanted more than that. I wanted Patch to practically think he was Antoine. For that, I created the Behavior Replication and Enhancement chamber, basically a machine that flooded Patch's brain with everything Antoine through electrical pulses and subliminal messaging. The results were astounding. There were times I couldn't tell the two apart. About the only time I could tell them apart was when... well, look for yourselves."

Another video played with various dates in the lower corner. They showed Patch beating Antoine in various forms to various degrees and also forcing him to do the hard labor of working in the refinery. Antoine shuddered at the sounds of the T.V., undoubtedly reliving those moments in his head.

"Ah, zee good times," Patch said with an evil grin.

"Admittedly, I let Patch do that because he had to take the stress of his training, and eventually dealing with all of you, out on something. Anyway, I have finally arrived on why I've been involved in criminal activity and how all of you play into this. With everything else set up all I needed was a trap to lure in the rest of you. As you may recall I had to do things to keep my G.U.N. connections happy by doing things for them to prove my worth. One idea that had been floating around a while was a mass theft operation. You see, my connections desire a very lavish and well-funded life, but they don't always want to pay for it. So when I came up with the idea of getting rid of the Freedom Fighters and gaining them a whole fleet of vehicles, they were sold on the idea. I stepped into the role of the well-controlled G.U.N. crime syndicate and put my plans to work"

_"So you never were some sort of criminal kingpin. You just stood there and barked orders at systems already in place,"_ Vector stated.

"Quite right. It was so easy setting this up, and my connections to law enforcement meant it would be even easier. I got everything in place in a very short period of time. From there it was just waiting until the rest of you Freedom Fighters were in positions that I could take advantage of. Through my own actions and a bit of luck that was achieved quite quickly. After that, it was as easy as releasing Patch out with the story of he'd been captured by me and that the only was to save him was the theft operation. And the choice for the first person to pull into all of this was an obvious one," Robotnik said, glancing over at Manic. "With one of the best thieves in the world, and yes, I think he's better than you, Rouge, I knew Manic would fall for the story all too easily. Naturally, he did and rounded up his first group to try to get the mission done. I saw to it that it failed in order to get the leverage and timing I needed. After that, well... you all know what happened there after since you've all been involved. And that pretty much brings us to now."

"Well I got to hand it to you, 'Buttnik. Of all the crazy-ass ideas you've ever had, this one tops them all," Sonic stated.

"Maybe so... but it worked, didn't it?"

_"Don't be so sure,"_ Espio thought.

"Lets take a look at the status quo, hedgehog. I have all of you in my custody, you have no means of escape, there's nobody to come and help you, and thanks to your impressively secretive actions, nobody even knows you're here. Oh, and as an extra added bonus, in capturing you I now have all seven chaos emeralds. Any way you look at it hedgehog, I win... and you lose."

_"HA THAT"S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG!"_ Vector shouted excitedly. _"The only one of us not here is Espio! He got away from your fake police this morning and I guarantee you he'll be here any second to bring your ass down!"_

"You're actually partially right about that, detective. Espio isn't here. That is to say he isn't here... _anymore_."

_"Y... You're lying..."_ Vector gasped.

"Do you honestly think I'd lie about the death of one of you?"

_"It's not true!"_ Vector shouted, getting angrier. _"Espio's too smart to have been lured into one of your schemes!"_

"Oh, indeed you're right. To a degree. I'll admit he did give it a good run. We actually had caught him once early in the day, but he fought his way out of that. We kept missing him all day, but he made the mistake of coming back to the S.S.P.D., one area that I have a lot of control over. We ambushed him and captured him once again. I had one of my best teams take him to be executed and I got confirmation from that he deed was done. So I stand by my statement. _Nobody_ is coming to help you."

_"You... you...** YOU BASTARD!**"_ the crocodile roared. _"I SWEAR, I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS! YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET KILLING A MEMBER OF THE CHAOTIX! I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER WAY WORSE THAN YOU EVER DID WHILE YOU WERE BANISHED!"_

Espio swallowed slightly as Vector had predictably lost his temper. Vector glanced over at the screen with Vector and Mighty on it. Vector realized he'd made a mistake, but it was already too late.

"You threaten me with suffering? Ha! You know nothing of suffering with the pampered lifestyle you've been living in your gated community ever since you won the lottery."

From his hiding place he could the slow look of doom cross over Vector's face. _"How... did you know that?"_

"You still don't get it, do you? I have influences everywhere in this city. Your community is no exception. I know full well how you've been living. In fact, during the day I had a team of mine go and get a souvenir. Here, take a look."

Robotnik pushed a button on his throne chair and a another image popped up on the spare screen. That image was also available to all the prisoners. Espio's nerves tingled with what he saw, but it was nothing compared to the sudden look of horror that overcame Vector. On screen his beloved wife and daughter sat in an unknown dark room, both blindfolded, bound, and gagged. Though appeared to have put up a struggle as their clothes and fur were ruffled.

_"VANILLA! CREAM! OH MY GOD, CAN YOU HEAR ME!"_

The two responded with muffled cries at hearing the familiar voice. It was impossible to make out what they were saying through the gag. Robotnik switched off the screen and put his face back on.

"Quite an interesting family, I must admit," Robotnik said with a scornful note.

_"Robotnik... please... Don't do anything to them. They don't deserve this! I'm a Freedom Fighter! I'm the one you want! I'll gladly give up my life so that they may live,"_ Vector pleaded, barely keeping his emotions together.

Robotnik scoffed in disgust. "Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Look at you, one moment you're pumped and ready for a fight, I show you one little image and you're groveling. You call yourself a Freedom Fight? Phft! Yet, it's the exact thing I was counting on. Whether it be to your teammates or your loved one, if something happens to them you forget about the fight at hand. Even two of the most difficult adversaries I though I'd have to face, Shadow and Silver, proved just how weak you are when you think with your heart. You're perhaps some of the strongest Mobians on this planet, yet when your precious Blaze and Rouge were threatened, you caved in. You're all weak due to your hearts."

_"You're wrong!"_ Charmy suddenly shouted. _"It's because of the trust and love that we have for each other that we've always kept fighting and getting back up, even when it looked like we were as good as dead! And that's something you'll never understand because you're nothing but a big bully! No matter how hard you try, you'll never break us or our spirits!"_

For the first time the entire group felt a sense of power and pride in such powerful words being spoken. A feeling of levity spread amongst them all and gave them a sense of confidence again. Robotnik could see this and wasn't going to let it go unanswered.

"Hmph... I see that with just a few words you all seem so reassured. Well, as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Earlier today I took an action that proves that you're all not as strong as you think. And before you ask what I did, let me just say ... I taught Tails a lesson."

Only then did everybody remember in all that was going on that they'd yet to figure out where Tails was or if he was alright. This new statement did nothing to reassure a new feeling of dread. Sonic's eyebrows began to arch as he wondered what Robotnik meant.

"What did you do to Tails?" he asked threateningly.

"Relax, I did nothing to Tails. Not directly, at lest. He's quite alive and and... Actually, I can't really say he's well, but he's alive, technically speaking. However, I doubt he's going to want to live much longer considering how he is doing right now. Here, take a look,"

Robotnik switched the screen to Tails' cell. The fox was still lying motionless on the floor. He looked limp and pale, his fur matted and in some places missing a few patches. He was also lying amongst a pile of his own stomach contents, and although it was hard to tell is also looked as if he'd urinated himself at some point. The image of the young kitsune in such a horrid state silenced everybody, each of them wondering what had happened to him.

"It would appear Tails isn't so motivated by your so called spirit, love, trust, or whatever else you feel you all possess. And to think, with all the attempts I've made over the years to get any of you to this condition, the step that worked was so simple. Watch this."

They all watched footage from earlier when Robotink separated Cosmo from Tails, roboticized her, and ultimately killed her in the furnace. In the footage that followed, they saw Tails suffer a mental breakdown as he repeatedly screamed and cried, throwing himself against the walls, pulling his own fur out, hitting himself, and eventually throwing himself into the retaining glass of the cell, which Robotnik had electrified to prevent escape attempts. The shock threw Tails back and he fell to the floor into a position not much different from the one he was in now.

Espio was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check, a rare occurrence for himself. _"A life has been lost... I have failed... There's no denying that now."_

On screen many of the Freedom Fighters were in tears, some uncontrollably. Even the toughest amongst them, like Knuckles and Shadow, looked highly disturbed at what they had just seen. In the Roboticizer chamber Manic sat with his hands buried in his hands, as did Antoine. Sonic stood, his eyes clenched tight and his fists clenched. Robotnik sat back and enjoyed all the reactions.

"A thing of beauty, isn't it Snively?"

"Quite so, sir."

"Oui," Patch added.

"So, as you can all now see, you're not as strong as you all think. Sure, you act tough and mighty when the odds are in your favor, but if just one bad thing happens to your friend and you crumble to pieces. It turns out your love for each other is your very undoing. The force that you like to believe keeps you going is ultimately what has made you fail, and allowed me to win."

_"It's better to have that than be a heartless bastard like you,"_ Sally seethed.

"Stubborn to the last, as usual. There's no point in continuing this conversation anymore. I've proved my point. All that's left is for me to fulfill my part of the deal and make sure that all of you don't live to see the morning. So here's how it's going to play out. Some of you I'm going to go through the pleasure of roboticizing, such as the three stars of the show I have here already, and also Chuck and Bunnie, since you were both previous guests of my invention. Those of you who are less important I'm going to just simply kill. And for a few of you with unique powers, like Blaze, Silver, and Shadow, I'm going to run some tests on you to copy your DNA and abilities in the most painful and gruesome ways possible. I guarantee you that you'll die during the process. So, without further interruptions, lets get on with-"

"Sir!" Snively interrupted.

Robotnik growled at being stopped. "Yes... Snively?"

"Perhaps it might be worthwhile to demonstrate your method of execution for some extra fun?"

Robotnik considered the thought a moment and knew what his nephew was getting at. "You're right, Snively. That's a great idea."

Robotnik typed some codes into his throne chair console and brought up the image of Cream and Vanilla again. Vector gasped as the two cried out in terror as mechanical nozzles lowered from the ceiling into their cell.

"For those of you that have never seen the effects of deadly neurotoxin on a living being, I think these two are perfect guinea pgis. Well, technically they're rabbits, but you get my point. This ought to be a good show."

Robotnik began typing in codes to activate the gas as Vector began to plead not to do so. Espio didn't know what to do as he had only seconds to react. The choice was either give up his stealth and hope to stop Robotnik, or detonate the bomb and possibly kill them all if the blast was more powerful than expected.

"You're a really wimp, you know that 'Buttnik?" Sonic said suddenly.

"Oh? And what makes you say that, hedgehog? I am about to kill all of you, aren't I?"

"No, you're not."

"Umm, yes I _am_."

"_No_, you're _not_."

Robotnik sighed. "Alright. You're obviously just trying to delay the inevitable death and have the last word to try to make me feel insignificant, but I'll listen this one last time."

Realizing this was his opportunity, Espio reach for the phone to dial in the code, only to discover the battery was dead. Cursing his luck, Espio quietly quick quickly began to search the bag, hopping to find a spare battery somewhere.

"I only just now realized what a weak individual you are. Think about it, everything you've ever killed you used a machine, a tool, a weapon, or something like that. You've never once had the balls to face a threat and take it on by yourself. You couldn't hurt a fly if you wanted to," Sonic said.

_"Yeah, he's right! You rely on you fancy inventions because at the end of the day you're less dangerous that a speck of dust!"_ Amy shouted.

Pretty soon, the entire group was in rebellion and shouting insult after insult at Robotnik. It was all they could do given their situation and figured they might as well go out with the last word. Meanwhile, Espio had finally found a spare battery and was desperately trying to replace it in the dark of the air duct.

_"You're nothing more than sociopath that didn't get cradled enough when you were a baby and you feel guilty because the rest of us have been able to live meaningful lives. Even with as much shit as we've been through in my life putting up with you, we wouldn't trade it for the world because at the end of the day we can feel secure knowing that we made a difference in this world and that we will be remembered for our accomplishments. And that's something you'll never be able to take away from us,"_ Sally concluded.

Espio finally had the battery replaced and started to turn the phone on. Looking back out he saw Robotnik typing in a few more codes. Several of the cells below now had vents for neurotoxin in them, while others were left empty as they contained members who were to be roboticized or tested.

With everything set, Robotnik clapped unenthusiastically. "That was a very nice display of emotions. I enjoyed that in an odd way. But not as much as I'm going to enjoy what I'm about to do to all of you right now. And in the end, when I've roboticized the whole world, nobody will remember you anyway. So, thank you for everything, Freedom Fighters. You won't be missed by me, nor the rest of my robotic world. As I've heard Patch say, Au Rev-"

A loud slam in the room made everybody turn about. The air vent slid across the floor and came to a stop. A purple chameleon was standing over by the wall.

"S-s-sir?" Snivley stuttered

"Eet can't be!" Patch cried.

"Oh yes it can," Espio said confidently.

_"ESPIO!"_ Vectored cried out over the telecom.

"Well well well..." Robotnik said in annoyance, spinning his throne around. "Espio. You're looking very... _alive_."

"Indeed. Quite an interesting story you've just told. I heard all of it."

"Well good for you. So am I to take it that you somehow tricked me into thinking that my team had killed you, when really you killed them?"

"Close enough."

"Whatever. I can take care of that myself," Robotnik said plainly, engaging a set of sentry machine guns which lowered from the ceiling. "Any last words, Espio?"

_"Espio, get out of there!"_ Vector shouted.

"Last words? No. There's no need for them."

"Great. That's the way I like it. Goodbye."

"Wait! He's got something in his hand!" Snively announced.

Espio held up the green cell phone."Say hello to my secret weapon."

The trio was perplexed for a moment, then began to laugh in unison.

"Mon dieu! 'E eez an eedeeot!"

"What's he going to do, throw it at us!" Snivley laughed

"Calling the police will do you no good, Espio. You know by now I've got the S.S.P.D. in my pocket. Plus, with my connections with G.U.N. they won't help you either. So I suggest you call for a hearse, because you'll need one in just a moment."

"Better yet, why don't I call an insurance company for you," Espio stated.

Robotnik cocked his head. "What are you, a comedian now? What's that supposed to mean?"

"In the past few days I've learned some valuable lessons. Some include that sometimes you need to do things in ways you've never done them before... and that it's always good to have a backup plan... and that it's your teammates that really meaning something... and..."

"And?"

Espio smirked. "That gas explosions make great diversions."

Everybody, Mobian and Overlander alike, were stunned by the last statement.

"I have to thank you, Robotnik. You almost got me with the bomb at Manic's house. But the one at Rouge's club, well..."

"Sir! The gas bunker! We'll lose power if that goes off!"

Espio grinned at this new fact. he began to quickly type in a number into the keypad, Everybody couldn't believe that Espio, a master of stealth, was going to pull a page from Sonic's book and do something to extreme.

"'E's goeeng to blow eet up!"

Robotnik's face went white hot with rage as he roared in anger, trying to type in the codes to activate the sentry guns to stop the chameleon while Snively and Patch ducked from either the impending explosion or gunfire. Espio glanced over quickly at the Roboticizer bank of screens and winked at his teammates, then mashed his thumb down on the call button of the phone.


End file.
